Literally, the Arabic word ‘aql (the intellect) means binding or withholding (al-Mawrid al-Waseet Concise Arabic-English Dictionary, 1996). Haeri (1989: 51) explains that the Arabic word al-‘aql is
derived from the root ‘aqala which means to be endowed with reason, to possess intelligence, to comprehend, to understand. The intellect, in its highest sense, is a sublime power which receives the unveilings of pure light. In its lowest sense, it is the power of ordinary reasoning.
Al-Attas defines ‘aql as “an innate property that binds and withholds the objects of knowledge by means of words” (1980: 14). From the ethical perspective, ‘aql means binding or withholding a person from following his or her base desires. When angels ask “Wilt Thou place therein one who will do harm therein and will shed Blood?” (al-Qur’an, al-Baqarah: 30), Allah responded by saying that “He has taught Adam the names of all things”. This may mean that ‘aql that Allah has given to man is capable not only of retaining and conceptualizing meanings but also capable of ethical thinking or arriving at ethical knowledge which could prevent him from engaging in immoral activities such as killing and murder. Al-Sharqawi (2003) agrees that ‘aql withholds a person from venturing beyond the ethical boundary to prevent his self from destruction. Moreover, Crow (1999) asserts that the main constituent in the meaning of ‘aql is ethical spiritual intelligence which is the prerequisite for the achievement of wisdom.
‘Aql or the intellect is the source and fountainhead of knowledge as well as its foundation (al-Ghazali, 1962). Al-Ghazali beautifully describes the relationship between knowledge and the intellect as fruits that spring from trees, light from the sun, and vision from the eyes. According to al-Isfahani, the intellect is not only capable of rational perception but also capable of spiritual perception (Mohamed, 1995).
Functions of ‘Aql
‘Aql has a potential for understanding meaning of and attaining knowledge from the data fed into it through sense perception. The data perceived and gathered through the senses is transferred to the intellect where it is retained and stored in memory. Sense perception is like input devices of a computer through which data is loaded into the computer’s memory ready to be processed by the computer’s central processing unit. Data perceived by the senses is retained in the retentive imagination. Thinking process started when the perceived sets of data is matched to the sets of related data stored in memory in order to recognize it. This set of related data is called information. Thinking process involved in order to recognize information perceived by the senses is recalling which not necessarily involves understanding. Information is useless until it is put into context and processed by thinking faculty. Knowledge is a result of interpreting and understanding a body of information. Understanding meaning of and attaining knowledge from the information perceived by the senses requires thinking.
No comments:
Post a Comment