The Sense of Taste Is a Telegraphist; Don’t Seduce It by Gratifying It
Divine dominicality, wisdom, and grace, made two centres with the mouth and nose, placing within them a frontier post,
and correspondents. In the microcosm, Allah the Most High made the blood‑vessels telephones, and the nerves, telegraphs. That True Provider made the sense of smell a telephone, and
posted the sense of taste to the telegraph. Out of His mercy, he put an instruction sheet on the food: flavour, and colour, and
smell. Thus, these three attributes are proclamations from the Provider, and invitations, permits, and
heralds; through them the needy and its customers are invited. He gave taste, sight, and smell to the feeding animals as tools.
He adorned the foods with various decorations, then soothed their flighty breasts, and attracted the indifferent by exciting them. When the food enters the mouth,
the sense of taste immediately sends telegraphs to every part of the body. The sense of smell telephones, giving information about the types of foods.
These senses act according to all the different needs of the different animals receiving food; the necessary preparations are made, or it receives a refusal.
Then they throw it out of the door and disgorge it! Since they have been charged with this by providence, don’t seduce them with pleasure.
Don’t deceive them by gratifying them. For then they will forget what true appetite is; false appetite will be born; it will strike your head, bringing illness and disease as penalties.
True pleasure springs from true appetite, true appetite from true need; this pleasure is ample for king and beggar alike.
Moreover, a dinar and a dirhem are equal; the pleasure jumbles them together, soothing the pain.