Wad Khatib is the type of Mishriq palm trees best adapted to the stony and often shallow soil of the Fourth Cataract region. Yusif (1995:274) recalls that Wad Khatib had been introduced from Saudi Arabia by a man from Higaz called Bashir bin Khatib (بشير بن خطيب), apparently a descendant of Imam al-Shafi'i (رجل من الشوفعة). Wad Khatib is the most common variety of date trees in Dar al-Manasir and the neighbouring Rubatab Country.