Status of Mentality and Knowledge in Etymology of “Shakilah” and Its Impact on Behavior

Religious sources, including the Holy Quran verses and traditions, contain a wide spectrum of teachings on the effects of mentality, knowledge and pondering on human acts. As such, the Quranic verse “And they shall say: Had we but listened or pondered, we should not have been among the inmates of the burning fire” (Surah Mulk: 10), clearly says inmates of the burning fire are those who avoided listening and pondering. Similarly, the verse “Are those who know equal to those who do not know?” (Surah Zumar: 9) says knowledge is sole criterion for valuation of human beings. On the other hand, verse 84 of Surah Isra (“Everyone acts in their own way”) attributes all behaviors to “Shakilah”. It comes from the root word of “Shikl” and etymologists say “similarity” is its central meaning. This work, researching into the status of mentality and knowledge in the etymology of “Shakilah” based on a historical semantic method as well as etymological studies, has found out that mentality and its related concepts such as pondering and contemplation are among the key concepts in the root word of “Shikl”. Also through clarification of frequently used equivalents for the word “Shakilah”, such as “intention”, “manner”, “habit”, etc., we have explored the quality of their relations with knowledge and contemplation, emphasizing the semantical link between the concept of “Shakilah” and knowledge and contemplation.