There are five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. The senses of sight and hearing are the principal ones, and of these two the principal is the sense of sight. The sense of touch is perceived through the medium of the skin, which represents the earth element, and is sensitive to cold and heat. The sense of taste is perceived through the medium of the tongue, which represents the water element; all salt, sour and sweet, pungent and bitter tastes are distinguished by it. The sense of smell is perceived through the medium of the nose, the channel of the breath, which alone can distinguish the odors and fragrances. The sense of hearing represents the air, and is perceived through the medium of the ears. The sense of sight represents ether, and is perceived through the medium of the eyes, which in this material body are the substance of the soul.

Each sense has its dual aspect, Jalal and Jamal, the strong and the gentle aspects of life, which are represented by the right and left side, their action being expressive and responsive. Therefore, although the sense of sight is one, the eyes are two; the sense of hearing is one, but the ears are two. The sense of smell is one, and the nostrils two. So it is with every sense. It is this dual aspect in nature, which has caused the distinction of sex, for in spirit the human is human, but as it approaches the surface it becomes either male or female. The myth of Adam and Eve expresses this to those who know: Eve coming out of Adam's rib means that two came out of the one Spirit.

In reality, there is but one sense, and it is the direction of its experience, which is perceived through a particular channel. This being so, each experience is different from the other. Therefore, we may call this sense the five senses, although in reality it is one.

Whichever element predominates in a person's nature, the sense relative to that element in him is the most active. And as breath changes so many times throughout the day and night, its element acts in accordance with the senses. This is the cause of every demand of the senses. He who indulges in any one of the senses makes that sense dull, just as attar, kept all the time near oneself, dulls in time the sense of smell, although it enslaves one to the smell of attar. The same is the case with all the senses. The Sufi, therefore, experiences life through the senses for the sake of experience and not for indulgence, the former being mastery and the latter, slavery.