Abstract:

Sacred intellect is the central concept of Avicenna’s theory of prophecy. By means of this concept, he aimed to justify the prophetic knowledge rationally. This article is intented to evaluate the scope and the basis of this justification. Thus, the relation of the concept of the sacred intellect with other concepts such as intuition (hads), theoric intellect, prophetic power, humor and purification is investigated. By pointing to this concept’s place in Islamic philosophy before and after Avicenna, it will be concluded that Avicenna’s main contribution in the theory of prophecy was the new content of the concept of sacred intellect provided by him

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