The Concept of Reason and Its Effectiveness in Two Commentaries: Mulla Salih Mazandarani's Commentary on al-Kafi and Allama Majlisi's Mirati al-Uqul

Definition of aql (reason) and its effectiveness is one of the concerns of the commentators of Kafi’s narrativs. The importance attached to it is due to the Ahl al-Bayt’s narratives، peace be upon them. This paper is organized in two parts: The first part contains the definition of reason by Mulla Salih Mazandarani and Allama Majlisi. Mulla Salih had philosophical tendencies. Consequently، his definition of reason is quite influenced by his philosophical perspective. However Allama Majlisi’s critical approach to the philosophy and philosophical thinking makes his definition quite distinct from that of Mulla Salih. In the second part، the author investigates limits of reason and its role in cognition. Following Akhbaris and philosophers such as Mir Damad، Mulla Salih believes that knowledge and wisdom are natural and inherent in human beings and defines them as inefficient in this field. Allama Majlisi does not give clear comments on this topic. But given the evidence found in his commentary، it can be concluded that he considers knowledge to be theoretical and acquired.