THE HIDDEN ARCHITECTURE OF THE SELF IN THE QUR’AN: A QUR’ANIC ANTHROPOLOGY

What does the Quran say about the human self?

Not only what human beings should believe or do, but what they are: how they perceive, desire, remember, resist, harden, awaken, and return.

In The Hidden Architecture of the Self in the Quran: A Quranic Anthropology, the Quran is read as a profound and coherent account of the human person. Moving beyond scattered discussions of the "heart," the "soul," or "human nature," this book reconstructs the Qurans layered vision of inward life through key concepts such as fitrah, nafs, ṣadr, qalb, and fuād.

The book argues that these are not interchangeable spiritual terms, but parts of a structured anthropology of moral agency, perception, desire, inward struggle, corruption, remembrance, and restoration. The Quran emerges here not only as a book of guidance, law, and devotion, but also as a deep map of human nature—explaining why truth is sometimes recognized yet resisted, how the self becomes distorted, and how it may be reformed by revelation, repentance, and divine aid.

Combining close reading with conceptual synthesis, this study offers a fresh account of the Quranic human being as dignified yet vulnerable, answerable yet pressured, and always capable of return. It also explores the practical implications of Quranic anthropology for education, dawah, counseling, leadership, rehabilitation, and moral formation.

Scholarly yet accessible, The Hidden Architecture of the Self in the Quran is a major contribution to Quranic studies, Islamic thought, theology, ethics, and the study of religion.

Ideal for readers interested in:

Quranic studies Islamic theology Islamic anthropology spiritual psychology moral philosophy religious ethics the concept of the self in Islam heart, soul, and human nature in the Quran