The Emergence of Intellect
Intellect (‘aql) is the discerning faculty within us. It does not differ from the body in kind but rather in degree. Intellect is the subtle extension of the senses, and the senses are the subtle extension of the body. Through the refining of the dense elements of the body, under the compulsion of Divine Will, the subtleties of the senses emerged, followed thereafter by the subtleties of intellect.
The third stage of human development is distinguished by the emergence of intellect. Intellect was not absent in the first and second stages of development, but it was latent, like fire concealed within stone. Its emergence from latency into the realm of perception characterizes this third stage. Regarding the process of the intellect's emergence and the means of its manifestation, Allah, Most Glorified and Most Exalted, says:
“Indeed, We created man from a thickened fluid (sperm-drop) mixture that We may test him; and We made him hearing and seeing. Indeed, We guided him to the way, be he grateful or be he ungrateful.” (76:2–3)
The term thickened fluid mixture (nutfah amshāj) initially refers to water mixed with clay, marking the point where life emerged as we know it. This event signifies the end of the first stage of human development and the beginning of the second. Even now, at its foundation, life continues to draw from this origin.
In its early stages, life begets life in one way or another during its simplest forms, before evolving and diversifying into specialized functions, organs, and species. In this early period, the distinction between male and female had not yet emerged as separate forms. This phase represents an aspect of the second stage of human development.
As life advanced and its functions became specialized, reproduction came to occur through the union of male and female. The term thickened fluid mixture then came to signify the male's seminal fluid (sperm) combined with the female’s ovum.
The key lies in the phrase “that We may test him” (nabtali-hi), as it alludes to the refining of elements during the period preceding the emergence of organic matter. It also refers to the struggle of living beings with their natural environment, starting from the first appearance of life to this very day. Through this trial and refinement, Allah made humanity “hearing and seeing”, which is - a reference to the gradual emergence of the senses in living beings, one after the other.
Once the five senses were complete and the living being became a fully formed animal, the second stage of human development concluded, and the third stage began with the emergence of the subtlest of subtleties: intellect (‘aql). This is signified in the verse: “Indeed, We guided him to the way, be he grateful or ungrateful.” (76:3)
The phrase “be he grateful or ungrateful” means that Allah guided humanity toward gratitude through ingratitude, or, in other words, toward correctness through error. This is also reflected in Allah’s words: “Did We not make for him two eyes, and a tongue and two lips, and We guided him to the two elevated paths?” (90:8–10)
“Did We not make for him two eyes” refers to all the senses. “A tongue and two lips” refers to intellect, not merely the tongue as a physical organ that humans share with animals. Instead, it signifies the capacity for speech, which involves the tongue and the lips to produce the complex and varied sounds required for language. Language is the expression and guide of the intellect.
“We guided him to the two elevated paths”, which references two paths: the path of error and the path of correctness. Allah guided humanity to both, as humans act, make mistakes, and learn from their errors.
When Allah guided humanity to the two paths, He only guided the angels to one path, the path of correctness, and the same applies to the devils, who were only guided to the path of error. This is because Allah, Most Glorified and Most Exalted, created desire without intellect in devils and other creatures below humans. They err but never achieve correctness. Conversely, He created intellect without desire in angels, so they are always correct and never err.
Allah made humanity an intermediary (barzakh) where the two realms, the lower and higher meet. He endowed humans with both desire and intellect and commanded them to govern their desires with their intellect. Humanity, therefore, exists in constant conflict between the impulses of wrong-doing and the calls of goodness, between the suggestions of error and the obligations of correctness. This is the meaning of Allah’s words: “And We guided him to the two elevated paths.” (90:10)
This intermediary nature, which encompasses both error and correctness, is what makes a human inherently more complete than an angel in an absolute sense. Due to the value of this nature, the Infallible [Prophet] said: “If you did not err and seek forgiveness, Allah would bring a people who err and seek forgiveness, and He would forgive them.”
The value of this intermediary nature lies in its freedom. The right to err is the right to be free to act, to make mistakes, and to learn from those mistakes so as to better exercise freedom without constraint except for the limits imposed by one's inability to act correctly. This inability is temporary, as one eventually transitions to greater capability and improved behavior, in a continuous cycle.
Freedom is the essence of life. A life without freedom is merely a body without a spirit. It is enough here to state that freedom is the distinguishing line between the life of an animal and the life of a human being.
In the beginning of life, there was sensation. The lowest level of life is the ability of the living being to feel its existence. Anything below this level of sensation does not qualify as life. This awareness of existence compels the living being to sense heat, cold, and pain. From these sensations came movement, away from harmful heat, away from harmful cold, away from all pain, and toward every possible pleasure. Inspired by the instinct to escape pain and seek pleasure, the ability to acquire nourishment and enjoy it emerged, as well as the ability to reproduce and take delight in it.
The single-celled organism sensed [its surroundings] with its entire soft body. As life became more complex and advanced, its sensitivity to danger increased, creating the need for specialized functions. The skin had to thicken and harden to act as armor and shield, while certain parts of the body, apart from the skin, began to perform sensory functions. Thus began the development of the senses.
Due to our familiarity with the five senses, we often fall into the spontaneous mistake of assuming that living beings were created with all five senses fully formed. However, this is not the case. The senses developed one after another as life advanced and the functions of the living being's organs became more complex.
Initially, touch occurred throughout the entire body, via the skin. But as the skin took on the protective role, specific parts became devoted to touch. Then, as the sensory function evolved to perceive threats from a distance, it expanded subtly to include hearing, followed by sight, taste, and smell.
This order is not strictly the sequence of appearance or completion, as different living beings may prioritize certain senses based on their needs. For some creatures, one sense becomes stronger at the expense of others, while the remaining senses exist in varying forms.
Today, higher animals, including humans, possess five senses. However, this is not the end of the journey. In humans, the sixth and seventh senses are in the process of development. Beyond the seventh sense, there will be no increase in the number of senses, but rather a continuous enhancement of their perfection. This process of development is then infinite (sarmadi).
