Discover the meaning of the term Al-shkl (شكل) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 2 min readThe form (hay'a) resulting for a body from one limit (hadd) surrounding the magnitude, as in the sphere, or from several limits, as in the polygons, the square and the hexagon.
In language: resemblance and likeness, and the form of the thing. Among the logicians: the disposition resulting from the position of the middle term (hadd awsat) between two terms upon which attribution must fall or be given, or fall upon one and be given for the other; the syllogistic figure (shikl) is thus four, for if the middle term is predicated in the minor and posited in the major, it is the first figure; if predicated in both, the second; if posited in both, the third; if the reverse of the first, the fourth. The first figure is productive by itself, and the other figures are reduced to it; hence it is said to be the master. The conditions of its productivity: the affirmation of the minor as to quality, its particularity as to quantity, and the universality of the major.
The disposition resulting from the manner of positioning the middle term with respect to the two other terms.
What a limit or limits surround.