Intellect and its Role in Interpretation from the Standpoint of Tafkik School

Tafkik School rooted in the thoughts of the late Mirza Mahdi Isfahani and the like offers a special definition of intellect, which has been construed as innate wisdom. This innate wisdom reveals truth and details, is abstract light, lies outside material existence of man and has inherent authority. According to this view, demonstrative wisdom and philosophical, demonstrative reasoning are invalid and have no authority and they have no contribution to the understanding of religious teachings. Hence, no kind of demonstrative, intellectual reasoning should be used to understand religious teachings and interpret the Quran and beside other sources, innate wisdom should be used to interpret the Quran. This paper delves into the viewpoints of Tafkik School on human intellect and its role in the interpretation of the Quran, criticizes it and identifies its weaknesses.