Ma`rifat

The theory of “return to self” is one of the central ideas of Ali Shari’ati, one of Iran’s contemporary intellectuals. In order to understand the process of formation of this idea, which is the pillar of his school of thought, it is necessary to comprehend his thought. Using Skinner's intentional hermeneutics, which is a valid approach to understand political opinions, this article studies the 36-volume collection of Shari’ati's intellectual legacy, as an intended speech act. This research shows that the atmosphere of the creation of this speech aligned with the dominant discourse in the socio-political atmosphere of the 1340s and 1350s, as well as a response to the problem of "alienation" and "confusion" of young people in Iran. Assuming that socio-political thoughts are the opinions and beliefs to organize the socio-political aspect of human life, this article claims that Shari’ati's socio-political thought has emerged in the form of the theory of "return to self," which requires reform, refinement, and completion on the one hand, and has some capacities that can be useful for today's situation of Iran on the other hand; specially to return the young Iranians to themselves in the post-revolutionary era. It seems that Ali Shariati, as an innovative ideologist, was able to attract the minds and thoughts of the youth to some extent during the critical periods of Iranian history by creating the idea of the Iranian return to the self, which he claimed to have Iranian and Islamic themes as well as new and novel ideas. Considering the correct idea of the return to the self, this idea is still feasible today. However, one should not blindly follow the path of scholars such as Shariati in their idea of “return to the self,”, whether their idea is right or wrong, especially when using an eclectic approach. Rather, we should inspire from the teachings of pure Islam and pave the way for the “return to the self” considering those teachings.