Mohammed Rustom
Senior Humanities Research Fellow
Education: BA, University of Toronto; PhD, University of Toronto
Research Areas: Islamic philosophy, Sufism, and Quranic hermeneutics
About Mohammed
Mohammed Rustom obtained his PhD (Islamic philosophy and Quranic studies) in the University of Toronto’s Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations in 2009, and is currently associate professor of Islamic Studies at Carleton University. An internationally recognized expert on Islamic philosophy, Sufism, and Quranic hermeneutics, his works have been translated into Albanian, Chinese, German, Italian, Persian, Spanish, and Turkish.
Rustom is the author of the award-winning book The Triumph of Mercy: Philosophy and Scripture in Mulla Sadra (SUNY Press, 2012), co-editor of The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary (HarperOne, 2015), translator of Abu Hamid al-Ghazali’s The Condemnation of Pride and Self-Admiration (Islamic Texts Society, 2018), and author of Inrushes of the Heart: The Mystical Theology of ‘Ayn al-Qudat (SUNY Press, 2020). At present, Professor Rustom is working on a translation and Arabic edition of ‘Ayn al-Qudat’s masterpiece of philosophical mysticism, Zubdat al-haqa’iq.
Professor Rustom has been the recipient of a number of international academic distinctions and honors, which include the Ibn Arabi Society Latina Tarjuman Prize (2016), The Institute of Ismaili Studies’ Annemarie Schimmel Fellowship (2018), and Senior Humanities Research Fellowships courtesy of the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute’s Library of Arabic Literature and Humanities Research Fellowship programs (2017–2020).
Publications
Books
Rustom, Mohammed. Inrushes of the Heart: The Mystical Theology of ʿAyn al-Quḍāt. State University of New York Press, 2023.
Rustom, Mohammed (ed. & trans.). The Essence of Reality: A Defense of Philosophical Sufism. ʿAyn al-Quḍāt. New York University Press, 2022.
Bilal Orfali, Atif Khalil and Mohammed Rustom, eds. Mysticism and Ethics in Islam. Beirut: American University of Beirut Press, 2021.
Rustom, Mohammed (trans.). Al‐Ghazali on Condemnation of Pride and Self‐Admiration. Islamic Texts Society, 2018.
Journals
Rustom, Mohammed. “Sayyid Ḥaydar Āmulī’s Seal of Absolute walāya: A Shīʿī Response to Ibn ʿArabī.” Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations 31, no. 4 (2020): 407-423.
Rustom, Mohammed. “Islam and the Density of Man.” Sacred Web 46 (Winter 2020).
Rustom, Mohammed. “ʿAyn al-Quḍāt on Chivalry.” Journal of Islamic Ethics 4, no. 1–2 (2020): 25-37.
Rustom, Mohammed. “Devil’s Advocate: ʿAyn al-Quḍāt’s Defence of Iblis in Context.” Studia Islamica 115, no. 1 (2020): 65-100.
Rustom, Mohammed. “Some Pointers and Reminders in Islamic Studies.” American Journal of Islam and Society 37, no. 1–2 (2020): 177-84.
Rustom, Mohammed. “On Listening: Hearing God’s Voice in the Face of Suffering.” Sacred Web 45 (2020): 36-43.
Ogunnaike, Oludamini, and Mohammed Rustom. "Islam in English." American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 36, no. 2 (2019): 102-111.
Rustom, Mohammed. "ʿAyn al-Quḍāt between Divine Jealousy and Political Intrigue." Journal of Sufi Studies 7, no. 1-2 (2018): 47-73.
Rustom, Mohammed. "Notes on the Semantic Range of “Deliverance” in the Quran." Journal of American Oriental Society 138, no. 2 (2018): 361-367.
Rustom, Mohammed. "What is Tafsīr al-Qur'ān bi'l-Qur'ān?" Journal of Scriptural Reasoning 17, no. 1 (2018): 1-10.
Rustom, Mohammed. “The End of Islamic Philosophy.” Sacred Web 40 (2017): 131-167.
Book Chapters
Rustom, Mohammed. “Quranic Eschatology.” In The Routledge Companion to the Quran, eds. Maria Dakake, Daniel Madigan, and George Archer. Routledge, 2022.
Rustom, Mohammed. “Theo-Fānī: ʿAyn al-Quḍāt and the Fire of Love.” In Mysticism and Ethics in Islam, eds. Bilal Orfali, Atif Khalil, and Mohammed Rustom. Beirut: American University of Beirut Press, 2021.
Rustom, Mohammed. “ʿAyn al-Quḍāt’s Qur’anic Vision: From Black Words to White Parchment.” In Routledge Handbook on Sufism, ed. Lloyd Ridgeon. Routledge, 2020.
Rustom, Mohammed. “Storytelling as Philosophical Pedagogy: The Case of Suhrawardī.” In Knowledge and Education in Classical Islam: Religious Learning between Continuity and Change, ed. Sebastian Günther, 404-416. Brill, 2020.
Faruque, Muhammad U., and Mohammed Rustom. "Rajab ʿAlī Tabrīzī’s Refutation of Ṣadrian Metaphysics." In Philosophy and the Intellectual Life in Shīʿah Islam, eds. Sajjad Rizvi and Syaid Ahmad, 184-207. The Shiʿah Institute, 2017.
Interview
“Ayn al-Qudat Hamadani’s Zubdat al-Haqa’iq” (The Quintessence of Reality)
In the News
Dr. Rustom sheds light on the figure of Iblis (or Satan) in the writings of ‘Ayn al-Quzat Hamadani, the 12th century Sufi mystic and jurist.
The Quintessence of Reality: An Interview with LAL Fellow Mohammed Rustom
Two Library of Arabic Literature Fellows, Mohammed Rustom and Bilal Orfali, recently sat down together to discuss the edition and translation projects they’ve been working on this year at NYU Abu Dhabi. Here, Bilal Orfali interviews Mohammed Rustom about his work on ‘Ayn al-Qudat’s Zubdat al-Haqa’iq (The Quintessence of Reality).
Library of Arabic Literature | March 29, 2019