The Quran is not a book of philosophy, but it is the source-book of philosophy; not a treatise on psychology, but the key to a psychology. Writing from an entirely different point of view, yet in perfect agreement with Asad, Seyyed Hossein Nasr remarks that the message couched in historical terms is 'addressed to the human soul'. 'The hypocrite (munafiq) who divides people and spreads falsehood in matters concerning religion also exists within the soul of every man, as does the person who has gone astray, or he who follows the "Straight Path"... All the actors on the stage of sacred history as recounted in the Quran are also symbols of forces existing within the soul of man. The Quran is, therefore, a vast commentary on man's terrestrial existence.' (footnote- Ideals and Realities of Islam by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, pg 51.)
- Ch 4
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