Knowledge, in the Islamic tradition, is not something humans manufacture but something that forms and transforms them. That was the central theme of a thought-provoking lecture delivered by Dr. Joseph E. B. Lumbard at Habib University on Friday, as part of the university’s flagship Reshaping Philanthropy in the Islamic World Lecture Series.
“Nowhere in the Islamic tradition is knowledge understood as a human production. In fact, we can say quite the opposite. That dedication to knowledge produces us as regards to both individuals and societies. We do not, as is too often assumed in modern parlance, produce knowledge. Rather, we transmit knowledge through knowledge. We cultivate knowledge through tarbiyah. We discover truth through kashf. We verify truth through tahqeeq. And we recognize truth through ma’rifah.”
Dr. Lumbard delivered “Beyond Specialization: An Islamic Vision of Education,” the third public lecture in the series, drawing a wide audience of Karachi-based intellectuals, civil society leaders, academics, students, and faculty. His address explored how Islamic knowledge traditions can help respond to the growing challenges confronting modern higher education.
An American Muslim scholar and Associate Professor of Qur’anic Studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Dr. Lumbard’s work spans Qur’anic studies, Sufism, and Islamic philosophy. His academic career includes teaching roles in Cairo, Boston, and Sharjah, as well as service as Advisor for Interfaith Affairs to the Jordanian Royal Court under King Abdullah II.
In his lecture, Dr. Lumbard warned of what he described as an intellectual crisis in contemporary academia, arguing that modern education has fragmented knowledge into isolated disciplines, often detached from ethical purpose and spiritual meaning. Drawing on Islamic intellectual history, he advocated an educational vision that prioritizes moral formation and intellectual integration over narrow technical specialization.
He also addressed the impact of modern technology on human cognition and learning:
“Increasing reliance upon technology creates a world where the very tools many now use to access information ensure that the human faculties required for knowledge act ever more rapidly. Study upon study has shown the cognitive declines associated with excessive social media immersion and now with the cognitive offloading through regular use of artificial intelligence. Once heralded as great tools of enlightenment, the computer, the internet, the cell phone, and now artificial intelligence drift further from these vaunted objectives as we humans succumb ever more to our basest desires.”
The lecture connected these concerns to philanthropy and institution-building, urging a reconsideration of how higher education can serve society in a more holistic and responsible way.
Introducing the lecture series, Dr. Nauman Naqvi, Associate Professor in Habib University’s Comparative Humanities Program, emphasized the need to rethink philanthropy as a long-term investment in ethical leadership and knowledge institutions rather than short-term charitable relief:
“Habib University’s Reshaping Philanthropy in the Islamic World initiative is grounded in a critical intellectual and moral concern. While generosity in Muslim societies remains deep, the direction of that generosity has increasingly drifted away from long term institution building, particularly in higher education, where sustained social transformation is made possible. Historically, Islamic philanthropy was not conceived as episodic or reactive charity alone.”
He added:
“Habib is reviving an Islamic tradition of philanthropy rooted in institution-building, intellectual growth, and lasting public good; reshaping giving beyond charity toward aspiration, and placing higher education at the heart of Pakistan’s future.”
The session concluded with an engaged Q&A, where participants raised questions on ethics, the relevance of Islamic intellectual traditions today, and institutional challenges facing higher education in Muslim societies.
Habib University’s Reshaping Philanthropy in the Islamic World Lecture Series seeks to address a critical gap by exploring how Islamic traditions of giving can be reoriented toward building enduring institutions of knowledge—positioning education as a moral, social, and civilizational investment for the future.
