According to Mulla Sadra, intellect, as a polysomic word, has six different meanings. For him, one of the most important meanings of intellect is the power of perception through which humans perceive objects. In addition, God, the Almighty, endows some human beings with the light that enables them to obey religious orders. Mirza Mahdi Esfahani considers intellect to be the light that God, the Almighty, bestows upon human beings after they reach puberty. Human beings lose the light when they fall in a state of anger or lust. To him, philosophical intellect is misleading. By explaining the attributes of intellect from Mirza Mahdi Esfahani and Mulla Sadra’s perspective and pondering on the meaning of practical and theoretical intellect, the paper reveals commonalities between the two thinkers. These commonalities are found in some properties of practical intellect. In fact, Mirza Mahdi Esfahani asserts that Mulla Sadra's theoretical intellect is counterproductive. It is argued that the claims of some Promoters of the Separation School that Mirza Mahdi Esfahani considers this meaning as valid are incompatible with his statements.
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