Abstract: The academic discussion on ‘aql from the Islamic perspective, refers to the spiritual ‘aql and not the mainstream understanding of what we know as the brain. The ‘aql is the ability to think that is innately found in man. It is spiritual in character and is related to the other spiritual elements of man such as ruh (spirit), qalb (heart) and nafs (desires). The discussion on ‘aql is inevitably correlated to the debate on character (akhlaq). This, therefore, means that the discussion on ‘aql is difficult to comprehend. Nonetheless classical Islamic scholars have initiated numerous discussions and have formed more than a few pathways which provided the foundation to the following generations of Islamic scholars to deliberate further and gain better understanding on ‘aql.