The Role of ʿAql in Qurʾanic Exegesis: A Comparative Study of Traditional Shīʿī and Critical Rationalist Perspectives

Abstract

The role of ʿaql (reason or intellect) in Qurʾanic exegesis (tafsīr) is subject to contrasting interpretations between traditional Shīʿī scholars of the Qurʾan and critical rationalists. Traditional Shīʿī scholars — those who adhere to a classical uṣūlī (rationalist) hermeneutical approach — regard ʿaql as a legitimate source of knowledge like the Qurʾan and Sunna, and assume it possesses religious authority (ḥujjiyya sharʿiyya). Within their framework an exegetical method is the use of an authoritative source in exegesis, leading them to assert that reason-based exegesis (tafsīr ʿaqlī) is an important method in Qurʾanic interpretation. In contrast, critical rationalists contend that traditional scholars have attributed an unwarranted role to ʿaql by equating it with a source of objective truths. According to critical rationalists, ʿaql encompasses two distinct cognitive faculties: ʿaql as "reason" distinguishes valid arguments from invalid ones, and ʿaql as "intellect" seeks to comprehend reality by developing, formulating and assessing conjectures.