What does Al-ḥs al-mshtrk mean?

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Discover the meaning of the term Al-ḥs al-mshtrk (حس المشترك) in Islamic vocabulary.

Definition Al-ḥs al-mshtrk

Al-ḥs al-mshtrk according to Kitab at-Ta'rifat (Al-Jurjani)

It is the faculty in which the forms of particular sensible perceptions are imprinted. The five apparent senses act as spies for it, through which the soul becomes aware of them and perceives them. Its location is in the anterior part of the first ventricle of the brain, resembling a spring from which five rivers branch out.

Al-ḥs al-mshtrk according to Dustur al-'Ulama (Al-Ahmadnagari)

One of the internal senses. It is a faculty located in the anterior part of the first ventricle of the brain, which receives the forms imprinted in the five apparent senses. These five senses are like spies for it, and the soul seeks them through that means to perceive them.

Therefore it was called the common sense, meaning a sense shared by the apparent senses for service, just as if a person had five servants. It is called phantasia in the Greek language because it has the meaning of the spirit. The common sense also serves as a tablet for the animal and human soul; just as the tablet receives inscriptions, so the common sense receives the imprint of all particular bodily forms, along with the detailed breakdown of the cerebral cavities in the brain.

Al-ḥs al-mshtrk according to Maqalid al-'Ulum (As-Suyuti)

A faculty in which, when the image of a thing is imprinted, that thing becomes observed.

Related terms: Al-ḥs al-mshtrk