Aubergine (egg plant, Solanum melongena) has been cultivated for its fruits in south Asia since prehistoric times, but was not known in England until late in the sixteenth century.

On 28 March 1990 The Guardian reported that thousands of Muslims were travelling to Leicester to see what was claimed to be a miraculous aubergine:

‘Farida Kassam asks visitors to take off their shoes as a mark of respect for the sliced vegetable, exhibited in a bowl of white vinegar in her front room.  Beside it is a plate bearing the Arabic inscription Yah-Allah, meaning Allah is everywhere.                                            Mrs Kassam, aged 30, proudly points our that the unusal seed pattern inside the aubergine appears to match the Arabic writing.  The discovery has fulfilled the faithful and confounded the curious, who have flocked to inspect the evidence.  A magnifying glass has been thoughtfully provided.       “We were really shocked when we first saw the seeds” said her husband …  “We couldn’t believe our eyes.  Our insurance man was the first non-Muslim we showed it to and even he could match the writing”.’

It was estimated that up to 5,000 people, mostly Muslims, have visited the home, and Mrs Kassam commented:  ‘It is a miracle.  This has happened to an ordinary family, that is why I am very proud of it.  Allah never forgets anybody.  We will preserve the aubergine as long as we are able and then bury it in holy ground.’

According to The Independent of the same day similar aubergines had been found in Nottingham, and Fortean Times 55: 5 (1990) reported that on 12 April 1990 a miraculous aubergine had been found in Nairobi, Kenya.  The Times of 13 March 1996 reported that Salim and Ruksana Patel, of Bolton, had found the name of God in an aubergine.  ‘The couple found the Arabic for Allah formed by the seeds.  Abdullah Patel, their priest, said “This clearly shows our God exists”.’    Later, on 16 September 1999, The Independent reported that ‘the Arabic symbol for Allah’  had been found in a ‘miracle tomato’ (Solanum lycopersicum) in Bradford.

Images:  main, West Green Road, London Borough of Haringey; upper inset, cultivated, Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses, London Borough of Lambeth, both August 2015; lower inset, slice of aubergine, purchased Balham, London Borough of Wandsworth, September 2015.