The Functions of Intellect and Rationality in Nahj al-Balagha

In Nahj al-Balagha, people have been invited to rationality, and some roles have been identified for intellect and rationality. These roles are not expressed explicitly, but implicitly in the words of Imam Ali (PBUH). This study aims to investigate and organize these items and, also, consider the functions of rationality and intellect through applying a descriptive analytical method in four categories: 1) the Relationship of human and God: the functions of intellect to know God and His commands and to set the scene to have relationship to Him; 2) the Relationship of human to himself: the functions of intellect to recognize good and bad behaviors; 3) the Relationship of human to other people, and 4) the Relationship of human to the nature and world: the functions of intellect to know the world to think about the power of God. In general, the functions of intellect in Nahj al-Balagha are divided into two categories: The first is “theoretical intellect” that leads to the growth of human knowledge and the second is “practical intellect” which leads to the growth of society.