'Aql

A visual rendition of the Islamic model of the soul showing the position of 'aql relative to other concepts based on a consensus of 18 surveyed academic and religious experts.[1]

'Aql (Arabic: عَقْل, romanized: ʿaql, lit. 'intellect') is an Arabic term used in Islamic philosophy and theology for the intellect or the rational faculty of the soul that connects humans to God. According to Islamic beliefs, 'aql is what guides humans towards the right path (sirat al-mustaqim) and prevents them from deviating. In jurisprudence, it is associated with using reason as a source for sharia and has been translated as 'dialectical reasoning'.[2][3][4][5]

  1. ^ Rothman & Coyle 2018, p. 1733, 1735, 1742.
  2. ^ Esposito, John (2004), The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, Oxford paperback reference, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, p. 22, ISBN 0-19-512559-2
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ Kitab al-Kafi
  5. ^ Campbell, Anthony (2004), The Assassins of Alamut, p. 84