Mas'udi in his Kitab al-Masalik waV Mamalik (The Book of Routes
and Kingdoms) has mentioned the mountains of Rahun and has said that
it was here that Adam was made to descend. I should believe Rahun to
be the Arabic form of Rung.
Some authors have presented the following argument in support of
Adam's descent upon this island:
The plants that grow upon this island at first grow to a certain height
and then recline toward the earth a little. Later, they grow up and
attain quite some height: in fact, the plants are akin to the camel's
neck. This is because of the prostration performed by the angels to
Adam.
But these people forget to note that the place where the orisons were
performed was situated elsewhere and the place to which Adam was
brought (from Heaven) is elsewhere. Al-Kindi avers:
Ruby is mined at Sahan, an island behind Serandib. Here there is a
big mountain, called Rahun. Dust-storms and floods transport rubies
from this mountain. The island is 720,000 cubits long and wide.
It is quite probable that the person who gave this information to AlKindi used the word, khalf Serandib (behind Serandib), and might have
used the word, khalf (i.e. behind) for "beyond", although both words
carry almost the same meaning. The dimensional sense of man uses both
words interchangeably. But as far as islands are concerned, the word,
wara' (beyond) is employed for a place that is at the other extremity
from the centre, while khalf (behind) implies that direction where a
larger portion of the sea is situated.
Nasr has also mentioned about this island but has given its name as
Mundri Patan. This city, as we have said, is situated on the coast and is
not an island.
It is said that, when the sun shines upon the ruby, lightning seems to
spark off and it is called the barq-i-Rahun. No one can go there, as that
region is in the possession of an enemy. This is all fiction, and I shall
narrate some of the fictitious stories held by the Iranians. This lightning
appears after sunset and disappears at sunrise. The same kind of tale is
told about the coastal mountains of Zabij, where the fire appears black
during the day and red at night, and it is seen after several days' journey.
Lightning is seen to spark off here as well. Al-Kindi says:
The rubies brought forth by the floods are better than those spewed
forth by dust and mud.
This is not a matter to wonder, and it is quite possible. A similar story
has been narrated by a seafarer.
We were once driven by the winds towards the mountains of Akhdar
which is situated to the east of the Mountain of Lightning. The boatmen cast anchor and tied the boats. Here the seafarers saw the
