IBN KHALDUN
IBN KHALDUN
(1332--1395. C.E. )
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 C.E., 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 know- ledge 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 analyzed the dynamics of group relationships and showed how group-feelings,
al-'Asabiyya, give rise to the ascent of a new civilization 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 analyzed
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 emphasized environmental, sociological, psychological and
economic factors governing the apparent events. This revolutionized the science
of history and also laid the foundation of Umraniyat (Sociology).
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 autobiography. 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 former bases the diagnosis more on cultural, sociological, economic and
psychological factors.
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