He is the author, editor, and translator of several scholarly books and many articles on Islamic philosophy, Sufism, and Quranic studies.

[3] Born and raised in Washington D.C., Lumbard was brought up within the Episcopal Church, serving as an altar boy.

[5] In order to complement his Western university training, he studied Qur´an, Hadith, Sufism, and Islamic philosophy with traditional teachers in Morocco, Egypt, Yemen, and Iran.

After serving as an advisor for interfaith affairs to King Abdullah II of Jordan, he became the director of the Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Program at Brandeis University.

[8] Lumbard has lectured in academic arenas around the world, participated in inter-faith dialogues, and appeared on several radio and television programs.