How to give congratulations
Mabruuk and mubaarak, weddings, births, and Eid.
Arabic has a deep set of congratulation formulas, more specific to the occasion than English equivalents. The default is the universal mabruuk, but the more polished registers offer something different for weddings, births, exam results, new houses, new cars, and the holidays.
Mabruuk vs. mubaarak
The word everyone uses is mabruuk مبروك. It is technically a passive participle of the root b-r-k (to bless), and historically did not mean "congratulations" — it meant "made to kneel," from a different sense of the root, or in the more relevant reading "blessed [object]." The grammatically tidy alternative is mubaarak مبارك ("blessed"), which is what some careful speakers prefer.
This distinction is real but small. mabruuk is universal, accepted, and not going anywhere. Use it without anxiety. mubaarak appears in fixed phrases — ʿiid mubaarak, ramaDaan mubaarak — where it is the only correct form.
The reply to mabruuk is allaah yibaarik fiik الله يبارك فيك ("may God bless you"), the standard return.
Weddings
alf mabruuk ألف مبروك ("a thousand congratulations") is the everyday wedding congratulation. More elaborate is aʿqaba allaahu ʿuqbaa al-khayr أعقب الله عقبى الخير ("may God grant good outcomes to follow"), which is also said to single people at weddings as a wish that they may be next.
For the bride and groom: mabruuk al-ʿaruus / al-ʿariis ("congratulations on the bride/groom"). For the parents: mabruuk Hafl zifaaf ibnak / bintak. The Levantine and Egyptian wedding zaffa procession is its own performance and not the place for set-phrase exchanges.
Births
mabruuk al-mawluud مبروك المولود ("congratulations on the newborn"). A heavier MSA blessing: yarbaa fii ʿizzkum يربى في عزّكم ("may [the child] grow up in your dignity"). The reply is the standard allaah yibaarik fiik.
If the child has been named, mention the name with mabruuk: mabruuk Layla. Asking after the mother (kif al-umm?) is appropriate and welcomed.
Exam results, new house, new car, new job
mabruuk covers all of these. The new-thing-in-particular variant is mabruuk al-bayt al-jadiid ("the new house"), mabruuk al-shahaada ("the degree"), mabruuk al-tarqiyya ("the promotion").
For exams and degrees, the older formula aʿqabahu allaahu nataa'ij khayr ("may God grant good results to follow") survives in formal speech.
Eid and Ramadan
The standard Eid greeting is ʿiid mubaarak عيد مبارك or ʿiid saʿiid ("happy Eid"). The fuller wish is kull ʿaam wa antum bi-khayr كلّ عام وأنتم بخير ("every year, may you be well"), used for any annual event — Eid, New Year, a birthday, the start of Ramadan.
Gulf-specific: ʿasaakum min ʿawwaadiih عساكم من عوّاديه ("may you be among those who repeat it"), said for Eid, Ramadan, and other annual occasions.
For Ramadan: ramaDaan kariim ("generous Ramadan"), reply allaahu akram ("God is more generous"); also ramaDaan mubaarak.
For New Year: kull sana wa enta Tayyib (Egyptian) or kull sana wa inta saalim (Levantine).
Christian and shared holidays
For Christmas: ʿiid miilaad majiid عيد ميلاد مجيد ("glorious birthday"). For Easter: al-masiiH qaam ("Christ is risen"), reply Haqqan qaam ("truly, he is risen"). Christian Arabs also use ʿiid mubaarak for any of their feasts.
Birthdays
The English-style "happy birthday" has a direct calque: ʿiid miilaad saʿiid عيد ميلاد سعيد. The annual-event formula kull sana wa inta Tayyib works for birthdays too. Younger speakers also borrow "happy birthday" directly.
How English speakers misuse these
Three patterns. First, using mabruuk with no follow-up — fine, but if the occasion is significant, the longer formula carries more weight. Second, missing kull ʿaam wa antum bi-khayr as the all-purpose annual-greeting line. Third, using "Eid Mubarak" without knowing which Eid: there are two main ones (Eid al-Fitr after Ramadan and Eid al-Adha during Hajj season), plus minor and regional feasts. The greeting works for all of them but a friend appreciates being asked which one.