مسالك الابصار في ممالك الامصار 2.28

2.28

I say: I suppose the absence of beans there is because it is a land of sages, and they hold that beans corrupt the substance of the intellect; for this reason the Sabians forbade them. He said: Among its fruits there are some figs and grapes, abundant pomegranates — sweet, bitter and sour — bananas, peaches, citrons, lemons, limes (al-labm), bitter oranges, sycamore figs, the black mulberry called firṣād, yellow and green melons, cucumbers, snake-cucumbers, ʿajūr melons and figs; grapes are the scarcest of all these kinds. Quinces are found there and are also imported; as for pears and apples, they are rarer than quinces. It has other fruits unknown in Egypt, Syria and Iraq, namely the ʿanbā, the mahwā, the lakaḥ, the karīkā, the ījalī, the fakī, the naghzak, and other excellent, delicious fruits. As for the coconut (nārjīl), which is called the Indian nut, nothing equals it; it is green and full of its oil. As for the ḥumar, which is called the Indian date (tamarind), it is a wild tree that grows on the mountains. Coconuts and bananas are scarcer in Delhi than in the surrounding lands, though they are still found in abundance. As for