تحفة النظار في غرايب الامصار وعجايب الاسفار 13.76.2

13.76.2

On the tenth day we reached the city of Kawlam — its name is spelled with a after k and l, with w between them. It is the finest town in Mulaybār, with fine markets, and its merchants are known as Ṣūliyyūn, with u after ṣ. They have vast wealth; one of them will buy a ship with everything in it and load it with goods from his own house. There is a community of Muslim merchants there, the chief of whom is ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn al-Āwajī, from Āwa in the land of ʿIrāq; he is a Rāfiḍī, and with him are companions of his following his creed, which they profess openly. Its qāḍī is a learned man from Qazwīn, and the chief of the Muslims there is Muḥammad Shāh Bandar, who has a learned and generous brother named Taqī al-Dīn. Its congregational mosque is a marvel, built by the merchant Khwāja Muhadhdhab. This city is the nearest of the towns of Mulaybār to China, and most [of the Chinese] travel to it. The Muslims there are honoured and respected.