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| While in early Islam, ‘aql was opposed to ''jahl'' "ignorance", the expansion of the concept meant it was now opposed to ''safah'' " stupidity" and ''junūn'' "lack of sense, indulgence". Under the influence of ] thought, ‘aql came to mean "dialectical reasoning".<ref name="DivineGuide" /> | While in early Islam, ‘aql was opposed to ''jahl'' "ignorance", the expansion of the concept meant it was now opposed to ''safah'' " stupidity" and ''junūn'' "lack of sense, indulgence". Under the influence of ] thought, ‘aql came to mean "dialectical reasoning".<ref name="DivineGuide" /> | ||
| Many dignitaries of the ] ] Imams also used the term ''ʿaql'' in association with the Universal Intellect (''al-ʿAql al-Kull''). Along with the Universal Soul (''al-Nafs al-Kull''), they explained that it presides over the spiritual world. These archangels are paralleled in the physical world by the enunciators of divine revelation (''nāṭiqs'') and the foundation of its esoteric interpretation (''asās'').<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Virani|first=Shafique|title=The Days of Creation in the Thought of Nasir Khusraw|url=https://www.academia.edu/37219457/The_Days_of_Creation_in_the_Thought_of_Nasir_Khusraw|journal=Nasir Khusraw: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow|language=en}}</ref> | |||
| == Shī‘ī Legal Implementation == | == Shī‘ī Legal Implementation == | ||
Revision as of 15:03, 9 September 2021
Arabic term for the intellect‘Aql (Template:Lang-ar, meaning "intellect"), is an Arabic language term used in Islamic philosophy or theology for the intellect or the rational faculty of the soul or mind. It is the normal translation of the Greek term nous. In jurisprudence, it is associated with using reason as a source for sharia "religious law" and has been translated as "dialectical reasoning".
History
In Islam, the term ‘aql was heavily elucidated by early Shī‘ah thinkers; it came to replace and expand the pre-Islamic concept of ḥilm (Template:Lang-ar) "serene justice and self-control, dignity" in opposition to the negative notions of ignorance (jahl) and stupidity (safah).
The "possessor of ‘aql", or al-‘āqīl (plural al-‘uqqāl) realises a deep connection with God. Jaʿfar aṣ-Ṣādiq (d. 765, notably an Imām) 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, Imām Mūsà 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." He further noted that where the A'immah (Imāms) are the ḥujjatu ż-żāhira "External proof ", ‘aql is the ḥujjatu l-Bāṭina "Secret proof".
While in early Islam, ‘aql was opposed to jahl "ignorance", the expansion of the concept meant it was now opposed to safah " stupidity" and junūn "lack of sense, indulgence". Under the influence of Mu‘tazilī thought, ‘aql came to mean "dialectical reasoning".
Many dignitaries of the Fatimid Ismaili Imams also used the term ʿaql in association with the Universal Intellect (al-ʿAql al-Kull). Along with the Universal Soul (al-Nafs al-Kull), they explained that it presides over the spiritual world. These archangels are paralleled in the physical world by the enunciators of divine revelation (nāṭiqs) and the foundation of its esoteric interpretation (asās).
Shī‘ī Legal Implementation
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, the Sunnah, and Ijma‘ "consensus" as sources of Islamic law and judicial decisions (ḥukm). However, Twelvers of the Ja‘farī school of law utilize ‘aql whereas Sunnis use qiyas "analogical reasoning" as the fourth source of law.
Among Twelvers, Akhbārīs (associated with exotericism and traditionalism and theological schools in Qom) and Usulis (associated with esotericism and rationalism and theological schools in Baghdad) were contending subschools: the former reject ijtihād outright; the latter advocate ijtihad and have been predominant for the last 300 years.
In Shī‘ī Islam, "the gates of ijtihād" were never closed and with the use of ‘aql, Shī‘ī mujtahids "practitioner of ijtihād" and faqīhs "legal specialists" are able to respond as issues arise that were not explicitly dealt with in the Qur'an or Sunnah.
Notes
- Esposito, John (2004), The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, Oxford paperback reference, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, p. 22, ISBN 0-19-512559-2
- ^ Moezzi, Mohammad Ali Amir (1994), The Divine Guide in Early Shiʻism: The Sources of Esotericism in Islam, Albany: State University of New York Press, p. 6, ISBN 0-7914-2121-X
- Kitab al-Kafi
- Campbell, Anthony (2004), The Assassins of Alamut, p. 84
- Virani, Shafique. "The Days of Creation in the Thought of Nasir Khusraw". Nasir Khusraw: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.
- Masud, Muhammad Khalid; Messick, Binkley Morris; David Stephan, Powers (1996), Islamic Legal Interpretation: Muftis and Their Fatwas, Harvard studies in Islamic law, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, p. 14, ISBN 0-674-46870-8
References
- Wehr, Hans; Cowan, J. Milton (1994), A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic: (Arabic-English) (4th ed.), Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, ISBN 0-87950-003-4
- ibn Abī Ṭālib, ‘Alī, Nahj al-balāghah