Sol 5.6

  1. Stand, behold, and take heed of this wondrous distinction;

    contemplate the lofty achievements of al-Sadiq.

  2. Turn your gaze back: here stands a fortress

    whose memory had nearly vanished from among mankind.

  3. Ahmad Pasha, the field marshal, first laid it out;

    he labored awhile, but death carried him off.

  4. Then it was taken in hand by a man of resolve and prudence—

    a man of lofty purpose and a proud soul:

  5. Field Marshal al-Sadiq, the sovereign who

    made the land flourish with mighty troops,

  6. and with fortresses and fleets wherein are

    lions who will never brook humiliation.

  7. An ambition has pitched its tent above the heavens—

    may the All-Merciful shield it from every affliction.

  8. May God Most High protect his realm,

    the realm’s defenders, and all the remaining subjects,

  9. and favor him with aid in his endeavor,

    through gracious gifts from His bounty.

  10. It excelled in beauty; thus I set its date in a chronogram:

    “Al-Sadiqiyya excelled in Kairouan.”

Sol 5.6