Author Archives: Joseph Lumbard

About Joseph Lumbard

Joseph E. B. Lumbard is Assistant Professor of Classical Islam at Brandeis University and a General Editor for The Study Quran (HarperOne 2015). A specialist in Quranic Studies, Sufism, Islamic philosophy, Islamic ecotheology and comparative theology and former Advisor for Interfaith Affairs to the Jordanian Royal Court, he is the editor of Islam, Fundamentalism, and the Betrayal of Tradition (2nd edition, 2010) and author of Submission, Faith and Beauty: The Religion of Islam (2009), and Love and Remembrance: The Life and Teachings of Aḥmad al-Ghazālī (2016).

Reflecting Upon Signs of God: Call to Climate Action

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As over a billion Muslims celebrate Ramadan, the month of the Qur’an, it behooves us to reflect upon all the āyāt – verses or signs of God. God enjoins us over and again to contemplate every āyah (verse) of the Holy Quran, as in Surah Muhammad: ‘Do they not contemplate the Qur’an? Or do hearts have their locks upon them?’ (47:24). In Surat al-Mu’minūn, He says: ‘Have they not contemplated the Word, or has there come unto them that which came not unto their forefathers?’ (23:68). In Surat al-Baqarah we are told: ‘Thus does God make clear unto you the signs … Continue reading →

The Holy Quran: A New Ecological Paradigm

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Among the world scriptures, the Holy Quran provides a unique resource for building a new ecological paradigm. Grounded in the Abrahamic tradition, it presents a harmonious view of nature reminiscent of the Far East. In the Quran, “whatsoever is the heavens and on the earth glorifies God” (59:1; 61:1; 62:1; 64:1). “The stars and the trees prostrate” (55:6), “the thunder hymns His praise” (13:13), and “unto God prostrates whosoever is in the heavens and whosoever is on the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the trees, and the beasts” (22:18). In these and many other verses, the … Continue reading →