DÖRDÜNCÜ FASIL · Üçüncü Madde
**Article Three**
Concerning the animal soul within the human body and its servants residing therein, it details the five senses.
Beloved! Know that anatomists have stated: The animal soul is a force permeating the entire body. The body moves according to its desire and perceives objects through its sensations. In addition to the aforementioned servants of this animal soul, there are twelve more servants; ten of whom are the ten senses (havâss-i ashara). One is anger, and one is lust. Five of these ten senses are external, their locations being: the ear, eye, nose, tongue, and the entire skin. And five are internal, their locations being within the cavities of the brain; namely, common sense (hiss-i müşterek), imagination, excessive doubt (vehim), intellect, and retention (hıfz). Each of these ten senses possesses a specific duty, which is its service.
Of the external senses (havâss-i hamse-i zāhire), one is hearing, one is sight, one is smell, one is taste, and one is touch. The function of the sense of hearing is to perceive sounds and letters, distinguishing and classifying them. It is through this alone that words are heard and understanding is attained. This faculty of cognition belongs exclusively to this power, for which other powers are incapable. The location of the sense of hearing is within the ear, in a cavity filled with subtle vapor enclosed within a membrane the size of a chickpea.
The function of the sense of sight is to perceive and comprehend forms and colors, distinguishing and classifying attributes such as black from white, long from short, large from small, near from far, beautiful from ugly, and light from darkness. This faculty of cognition belongs exclusively to this power, for which other powers are incapable. The location of the sense of sight is in the pupil of the eye.
The function of the sense of smell is to distinguish and classify pleasant odors from foul ones. This perception belongs uniquely to this sense, for which other senses are incapable. The location of this power is in the front part of the brain, two fleshy protrusions resembling nipples.
The function of the sense of taste is to experience the flavor of objects. To that end, it distinguishes bitterness from sweetness, sourness from saltiness, and understands the tastes and flavors of all foods and fruits – a faculty belonging exclusively to this power. Other powers are incapable of perceiving such flavors and tastes. The location of the sense of taste is on the inner part of the throat and on the upper surface of the tongue.
The function of the sense of touch is to distinguish softness from hardness, heat from cold, moisture from dryness, and lightness from heaviness. This perception arises solely through this power; other powers have no share in it. The location of this power is the entire external surface of the body. However, it is most prominent on the palms of the hands and fingers, reaching its highest degree at the tip of the middle finger.
This arrangement and order reveal and demonstrate the perfection of the Divine Power and the great blessings of He Who Creates and Sustains (Hâlik ve Bârî) Allah. Those who possess wonder have derived countless lessons from this divine artistry.
“We glorify Allah, the Creator with wisdom. He has created His creation with wisdom. He has created humankind in the most beautiful form and granted us ears, eyes, and hearts.” Truly, there is no power or strength except in the Exalted Allah.