Ibn Khaldun Essay ⋆ Sociology Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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Wall al-DTn’Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad Ibn Khaldun al-TunisT al-HadramT was born in Tunis on 1 Ramadhan of the Muslim year. His Muqaddimah, a prolegomenon to the study of history, was completed in 1378 and introduces what he believed to be a new science he called ‘ilm al-ijtima ‘ al-insani (science of human society).

Ibn Khaldun’s Muqaddimah is a prolegomenon to his larger historical work on the Arabs and Berbers, the Kitab al- ‘Ibar wa Diwan al-Mubtada’ wa al-Khabar f i Ayyam al-‘Arab wa al-‘Ajam wa al-Barbar (Book of Examples and the Collection of Origins of the History of the Arabs and Berbers). He begins the Muqaddimah by problematizing the study of history, suggesting that the only way to distinguish true from false reports and to ascertain the probability and possibility of events is the investigation of the nature of human society (Ibn Khaldun 1981 [1378]: 38 [1967: I.77]). It is this investigation that he refers to as ‘ilm al-ijtima’ al-insani. Ibn Khaldun made the distinction between the outer forms (Zahir), that is, facts and reports, and the inner meaning (batin), that is, causes, of history (Ibn Khaldun 1981* [1378]: 1 [1967: I.6]). The new science is presented by Ibn Khaldun as a tool for the study of history and is directed to uncovering the inner meaning of history.

Empirically, Ibn Khaldun’s interest was in the study of the rise and fall of the various North African states. Only a society with a strong asabiyyah or group feeling could establish domination over one with a weak asabiyyah (Ibn Khalduun 1981 [1378]: 139, 154 [1967: I.284, 313]). Because of superior asabiyyah among nomadic peoples, they could defeat sedentary people in urban areas and establish their own dynasties. Having done so, urbanization resulted in the diminution of their asabiyyah. With this went their military strength and their ability to rule. This leaves them vulnerable to attack by fresh supplies of pre-urban nomads with stronger asabiyyah who replaced the weaker urbanized ones. And so the cycle repeats itself.

Underlying the above substantive concerns is Ibn Khalduun’s interest in elaborating a new science of society, based on the application of Aristotle’s four types of causes, the formal, material, efficient, and final cause (Mahdi 1957: ch. 5). Understanding the inner meaning of history is to know the nature of society, which in turn requires the study of its causes. The causes are what gives society its constitution (material cause), its definition (formal cause), the motive forces of society (efficient cause), and society’s end (final cause) (Mahdi 1957: 233-4, 253, 270). This can be said to be the elements of Ibn Khalduun’s general sociology, applicable to all types of societies, nomadic or sedentary, feudal or prebendal, Muslim or non-Muslim.

Ibn Khalduun has been recognized as a founder of sociology by earlier generations of western sociologists in the nineteenth century. However, this degree of recognition has not been accorded to Ibn Khalduun in contemporary teaching and the writing of the history of sociology.

Bibliography:

Ibn, Khaldun, ‘Abd, al-Rahman (1981) [1378] Muqaddimat Ibn Khaldun. Dar al-Qalam, Beirut. Page numbers in square brackets refer to Franz, Rosenthal’s (1967) English translation, Ibn Khalduun: The Muqadimmah — An Introduction to History, 3 vols. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London.
Mahdi, M. (1957) Ibn Khaldun’s Philosophy of History. George Allen & Unwin, London.