The Hidden Architecture of the Self in the Qur’an: A Qur’anic Anthropology

What does the Qur'an 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 Qur'an: A Qur'anic Anthropology, the Qur'an 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 Qur'an's layered vision of inward life through key concepts such as fitrah, nafs, ṣadr, qalb, and fu'ād.

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 Qur'an 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 Qur'anic human being as dignified yet vulnerable, answerable yet pressured, and always capable of return. It also explores the practical implications of Qur'anic anthropology for education, da'wah, counseling, leadership, rehabilitation, and moral formation.

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

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