Date: 9-12 December 2025

In this talk, I explore the concept of multi-species justice (MSJ) through the writing of the Muslim mystic poet-philosopher Jalal al-Din Rumi (d. 1273). Drawing on Rumi’s Masnavi-i-Ma’navi (The Meaning of All Things), a poetic corpus spanning six volumes and comprising 26,000 verses written between 1254 and 1273, I explore his emphasis on MSJ through three intersected themes. First, I examine Rumi’s focus on the interconnection between all beings, expressed as kull (all) rather than juz (parts), which suggests a holistic entanglement and informs an Islamic approach to MSJ. Second, I unknot Rumi’s reflection on the earth’s ability to witness and experience destruction and pain, and its ethical implications for how we relate to Others. Finally, I explore how Rumi’s philosophy of balance and mutualism, encapsulated in the concept of maizan, prompts us to consider a deeper sensory relationship between beings. By bringing Rumi’s ideas into conversation with contemporary debates on MSJ, this essay urges “unthinking mastery” (Singh 2018), particularly when moving beyond Western-centric notions of justice.