'Aql (Arabic:عَقْل,romanized: ʿaql,lit. 'intellect') is anArabic term used inIslamic philosophy andtheology for theintellect or therationalfaculty of the soul that connects humans toGod. According to Islamic beliefs,'aql is what guides humans towards the right path (sirat al-mustaqim) and prevents them from deviating. Injurisprudence, it is associated with using reason as a source forsharia and has been translated as 'dialectical reasoning'.[2][3][4][5]
The term "al-'aql" in Arabic is derived from the root word "ql," which means to bind. In Islamic thought, it is used to describe the faculty that connects individuals to God.[6] It is usually translated in English as intellect, intelligence, reason or rational faculty.[7]
The Quran doesn't use the word "aql" explicitly, but its verbal forms such asyaʿqelūn appear 49 times. Intellect is important because it allows humans to understand God's signs in nature (2:164, 13:4, 16:12, 23:80) and in the Quran or other scriptures (2:44, 3:65, 3:118, 10:16, 11:51). Intellect prevents humans from committing actions that would lead them to punishment in hell (67:10). Moreover, it allows individuals to comprehend that the afterlife is better than this world (6:32, 7:161, 12:109, 28:60). Those who lack intellect are seen as the worst creatures in God's sight ("Surely the worst of beasts in God's eyes are those who are deaf and dumb and do not use their intellect") (8:22).[8][7] Elsewhere, the Quran says: "Have they not traveled in the earth that they might have hearts with which to intellect and ears with which to hear? Surely the eyes are not blind, but blind are the hearts within the breasts". (22:46).[7]
In the perspective of Islam it is precisely ‘aql which keeps man on the straight path (the sirat al-mustaqim) and prevents him from going astray. That is why so many verses of the Quran equate those who go astray with those who cannot use their intellect (as in the verseswa la ya‘qilun, ‘they do not understand’ or literally ‘use their intellect’—the verbya‘qilun deriving from the root‘aqala which is related to ‘aql; or the versela yafqahun, ‘they understand not’, the verbyafqahun being related to the rootfaqiha which again means comprehension or knowledge.)[9]
— Seyyed Hossein Nasr,Sufi Essays, 1972
Moreover, the term ūlu’l-albāb (possessors of intellect) is mentioned 16 times in the Quran, and commentators often associate their "lobb" with intellect. The Quran (39:9) poses a rhetorical question, asking whether those who possess knowledge and those who do not are equal. The answer, according to the Quran, is that only the ūlu’l-albāb (the possessors of intellects) are the ones whoremember and understand the significance of God's signs.[8]
While Sunni Hadiths acknowledge the value of intellect, Shia Hadith collections contain a larger number of traditions that praise it. The connection between intellect and sound religious faith and practice is emphasized in both Sunni and Shia traditions. According to Ḡazzālī, the Prophet said that intellect is the foundation of the believer, and it determines the extent of their worship. The Shiʿite sources, in particular, stress the idea that intellect is the foundation of all positive moral qualities. In that vein, Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādeq defines intellect as the means by which one worships the All-Merciful and attains Paradise.[8]
The term ‘aql was heavily elucidated by early Shī‘ah thinkers; it came to replace and expand the pre-Islamic concept ofḥilm (Arabic:حلم) "serene justice and self-control, dignity" in opposition to the negative notions of ignorance (jahl) and stupidity (safah).[3]
The "possessor of ‘aql", oral-‘āqīl (pluralal-‘uqqāl) realises a deep connection with God.Jaʿfar aṣ-Ṣādiq (d. 765, notably anImām) described this connection as a realisation that God loves some, that God is truth and that only‘ilm "sacred knowledge" and its development can help humanity fulfil its potential.
His son, ImāmMūsà al-Kāżim (d. 799), expanded this exegesis by defining ‘aql as the "faculty for apprehending the divine, a faculty of metaphysical perception, a light in the heart, through which one can discern and recognize signs from God."[3] He further noted that where the A'immah (Imāms) are theḥujjatu ż-żāhira "External proof [of God]", ‘aql is theḥujjatu l-Bāṭina "Secret proof".[3]
While in early Islam, ‘aql was opposed tojahl "ignorance", the expansion of the concept meant it was now opposed tosafah "[deliberate] stupidity" andjunūn "lack of sense, indulgence". Under the influence ofMu‘tazilī thought, ‘aql came to mean "dialectical reasoning".[3]
In Shī‘ī jurisprudence, ‘aql is the process of using intellect or logic to deduce law. Legal scholars in both Sunni and Shī‘ī Islamic traditions share Quranic interpretation, theSunnah, andIjma‘ "consensus" as sources of Islamic law and judicial decisions (ḥukm). However,Twelvers of the Ja‘farīschool of law utilize ‘aql whereas Sunnis useqiyas "analogical reasoning" as the fourth source of law.
Among Twelvers,Akhbārīs (associated with exotericism and traditionalism and theological schools inQom) andUsulis (associated with esotericism and rationalism and theological schools inBaghdad) were contending subschools: the former rejectijtihād outright; the latter advocateijtihad and have been predominant for the last 300 years.[3][10]
In Shī‘ī Islam, "the gates ofijtihād" were never closed and with the use of ‘aql, Shī‘īmujtahids "practitioner ofijtihād" andfaqīhs "legal specialists" are able to respond as issues arise that were not explicitly dealt with in the Qur'an or Sunnah.