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Ibn Khaldun
(1332--1395. A.D. )
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Abd al-Rahman Ibn Mohammad is generally known as Ibn
Khaldun after a remote ancestor. His parents, originally Yemenite
Arabs, had settled in Spain, but after the fall of Seville, had migrated
to Tunisia. He was born in Tunisia in 1332 A.D., where he received
his early education and where, still in his teens, he entered the service
of the Egyptian ruler Sultan Barquq. His thirst for advanced knowledge and a better academic setting soon made him leave this service
and migrate to Fez. This was followed by a long period of unrest
marked by contemporary political rivalries affecting his career.
This turbulent period also included a three year refuge in a small
village Qalat Ibn Salama in Algeria, which provided him with the
opportunity to write Muqaddimah, the first volume of his world
history that won him an immortal place among historians, sociologists and philosophers. The uncertainty of his career still continued,
with Egypt becoming his final abode where he spent his last 24 years.
Here he lived a life of fame and respect, marked by his appointment
as the Chief Malakite Judge and lecturing at the Al-Azhar University,
but envy caused his removal from his high judicial office as many as
five times. |
Ibn Khaldun's chief contribution lies in philosophy of history
and sociology. He sought to write a world history preambled by a
first volume aimed at an analysis of historical events. This volume,
commonly known as Muqaddimah or 'Prolegomena', was based on
Ibn Khaldun's unique approach and original contribution and
became a masterpiece in literature on philosophy of history and
sociology. The chief concern of this monumental work was to
identify psychological, economic, environmental and social facts
that contribute to the advancement of human civilization and the
currents of history. In this context, he analysed the dynamics of
group relationships and showed how group-feelings, al-'Asabiyya,
give rise to the ascent of a new civilisation and political power and
how, later on, its diffusion into a more general civilization invites
the advent of a still new 'Asabiyya in its pristine form. He identified
an almost rhythmic repetition of rise and fall in human civilization,
and analysed factors contributing to it. His contribution to history
is marked by the fact that, unlike most earlier writers interpreting
history largely in a political context, he emphasised environmental,
sociological, psychological and economic factors governing the
apparent events. This revolutionised the science of history and also
laid the foundation of Umraniyat (Sociology).
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Apart from the Muqaddimah that became an important
independent book even during the lifetime of the author, the other
volumes of his world history Kitab al-I'bar deal with the history of
Arabs, contemporary Muslim rulers, contemporary European rulers,
ancient history of Arabs, Jews, Greeks, Romans, Persians, etc.,
Islamic History, Egyptian history and North-African history,
especially that of Berbers and tribes living in the adjoining areas.
The last volume deals largely with the events of his own life and is
known as Al-Tasrif. This was also written in a scientific manner and
initiated a new analytical tradition in the art of writing autobio-
graphy. A book on mathematics written by him is not extant.
Ibn Khaldun's influence on the subject of history, philosophy
of history, sociology, political science and education has remained
paramount ever since his life. His books have been translated into
many languages, both in the East and the West, and have inspired
subsequent development of these sciences. For instance, Prof. Gum
Ploughs and Kolosio consider Muqaddimah as superior in scholarship
to Machiavelli's The Prince written a century later, as the forrner
bases the diagnosis more on cultural, sociological, economic and
psychological factors. |
Statue of Ibn Khaldun in Tunis
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This page last updated 10/11/2009 12:39 p.m.
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