CC BY
27SOCIAL SCIENCES
STUDENT REVIEW: THE "MUQADDIMAH" OF IBN KHALDUN
Juraev Z., Rasulov I.
Ph.D. Students of General Graduate School, Faculty of Social Sciences, Chonnam National University DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7298700
ABSTRACT
In this review article, it will be first summarized the basic information about Ibn Khaldun, and his famous book called "Muqaddimah" and share our modest thoughts on this great work to understand the essence and value of the book. This study aims to emphasize that the work of Ibn Khaldun is an important scientific source for humanities and social sciences, especially sociology and related majors. In short, the purpose of this modest article is to explain "Muqaddimah" as it is an invaluable resource for young researchers.
Keywords: social sciences, humanities, history, review, global diaspora studies, epistemology, reading.
1. Introduction
In this modest student review article, we have first summarized the basic information about Ibn Khaldun's book, and we are sharing our thoughts about this short book aimed at understanding the essence and value of the book. Our goal is to emphasize that the book of the great scholar - Ibn Khaldun is an important source for science, especially sociology. In short, this small article aims to offer Muqaddimah an invaluable resource for social science researchers and to invite students of social sciences to study this book. So, in the following text, we will first talk about the life of the author of the book - a great scholar. Then, it turns to comments about the book. This article ends with a conclusion.
As our article is not a research study but is a "thought essay", it is not containing any kind of empirical analysis or such kind of applied supplementary case study.
2. A brief word about Ibn Khaldun's life and work.
Abd-al-Rahman, Abu Zayd ibn Khaldun was born in the XIV Century, 1332 in the Christian dating, in Tunis. In fact, it has been written a lot about this great scholar's life and his works. There are also many separate paperbacks or essays on his autobiography and his famous work called the "Muqaddimah". But traditionally, please allow us to talk a little about the scholar before we start discussing the core of the study.
So, Abd-al-Rahman ibn Khaldun was one of the most remarkable people in history. He, perhaps the first philosopher of history, sees speculative (or hypothetical) philosophy as not very useful, except as a method of inquiry. But it was Ibn Khaldun who identified the ossification (i.e., conformity) of tradition and intellectual stagnation (i.e., immobility) that muted the Islamic World. In his time, philosophy was in rapid decline, at least in the Sunni World - a major part of Islam. In other words, Ibn Khaldun always has a place amongst giant people in history - he was one of the greatest social analysts of the medieval Islamic world.
Abd-al-Rahman Ibn Khaldun (in the following text, we write as "Ibn Khaldun ") - came from a family of lawyers and government officials, Ibn Khaldun survived a turbulent period of Maghreb dynasty clashes (i.e., conflicts) and political unrest (turbulence). And
his father actually became very devoted, he had been a politician, but he got out of it. And he did not want his son to go into it. That is his father actually raised his son not telling him about the whole family of Andalusia. Because they were a Yamani family, they had a very noble lineage, and they were all Ministers. Ibn Khaldun discovered his lineage from reading "Jamhrat Ansab' (Al-Andalusi, 2001) because at that time he was reading the book of genealogy - that means, he found his genealogy - they were all ministers and he immediately set out for Andalusia to do what kind of political affairs (Hamza Yusuf, 2017).
According to commentaries about him, his skills and abilities allowed him to enter the inner circle of the rulers of Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Granada. His first-hand experience in courtroom politics enabled him to gain an important understanding of the dynamics of social power in various contexts. Because he definitely had political ambitions. It was initially a disappointment for his father. Thus, (some) commentators from the Western side have seen him as arrogant (McLemee and Irwin, 2018). But to be born that kind of genius at a relatively mediocre age; so, there were a lot of interesting challenges in his life.
So, at the age of 50, Ibn Khaldun took up a scholarly degree at the great Jami'ah (educational institution) namely "Al-Azhar" (current Al Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt), and later temporarily became Egypt's chief judge (Islamic jurisprudent, and judge: "qodi"). Also, Ibn Khaldun accompanied the successor of the Sultan on his journey northeast (it was Central Asia, current Uzbekistan), where he met the great Emperor of his time - Amir Timur (or Tamerlane). They even had a series of talks with each other. Their discussions touched on many topics, from the nature of group solidarity to the demands of urban civilization and beyond. Ibn Khaldun died at the age of 74 in Cairo (Marko, 2019).
3. Student's modest review about the "Muqaddimah"
3.1. Meaning of the "Muqaddimah" and its essence
Before we get into the scope of Ibn Khaldun's book, let me mention a little bit about knowledge. Be-
cause the basis of this modest work is to learn something beneficial and thereby share knowledge. Franz Rosenthal, one of the great Orientalists of the 20th Century, wrote a book called "The Knowledge Triumphant" on the importance of knowledge. In lieu of information, Franz Rosenthal was a famous Jewish Orientalist and one of the translators of Ibn Khaldun's "Muqaddimah" into English. So, one of Franz Rosenthal's points is that a unique civilization is one whose sole purpose is to acquire, develop, and spread knowledge (Rosenthal, 2007). Therefore, the essence of our research, which combines the work of Ibn Khal-dun and geography to study a specific topic, is to contribute to the acquisition of knowledge and to share it with others.
So, this great scholar - Ibn Khaldun put his knowledge to good use in the "new historical science " presented in his masterpiece "Muqaddimah". This book is the first volume of his book called "Great World History". The "Muqaddimah" is often translated as "Introduction" or "Prolegomenon"; the "Muqaddimah" is the most important work of the Islamic story of the premodern world. So, Ibn Khaldun took off the time to write his book "Muqaddimah". This masterpiece's name in logic is a technical term for the major and minor premise (like proposition) before you get - called "result". "Muqaddimah" is an Arabic word that means "to put something forward".
This masterpiece is actually seven volumes, but mostly we have an abridged form of the book. There are different editions of it but in Arabic, the abridged form is three volumes. Some scholars mentioned that the abridgment version is not bad, it was done in the 1950s, and for the information, some of its translations are just wrong, and some of them are actually mistranslations, according to pious analytics (Hamza Yusuf, 2017).
Thus, the "Muqaddimah" is Ibn Khaldun's attempt to reveal history's hidden or inner principles that lead to the rise and fall of dynasties. The most interesting thing about Ibn Khaldun is that he was completely aware that he was doing something that had never been done before (that's quite extraordinary!).
This important work introduces his multi-volume world history and remains an enduring classic in the Islamic tradition. It presents the science for understanding human civilization and social organization by exploring the philosophy of history that later became known as sociology, economics, etc. Using a multidimensional approach to history, including geography, climate, social psychology, law, economics, and culture. Ibn Khaldun offers a variety of explanations for the trends and trajectories of civilization. This work is not only for trained Muslim jurists but for anyone interested in understanding the complexities of human society and civilization from the perspective of one of the most brilliant minds in human history. (If you read this work closely, it would be definitely essential reading!).
Thus, Ibn Khaldun is a great scholar, if you read his work (i.e., "The Muqaddimah"), you can see that he
basically wants to understand how society came into existence, and what causes its decline and fall. Maybe that is why Ibn Khaldun was called the father of sociology. As he was studying society, the book is about what is a society - how it comes into existence, what's its nature and what's causing its decline. So, he - Ibn Khaldun goes into each of those.
3.2. Related studies on the "Muqaddimah".
Charles Issawi (1987) brilliantly summarized some of the most salient features of the Muqadimmah ("An Arab Philosophy of History", 1987). Issawi has an excellent introduction and explanation of Ibn Khal-dun's methodology. According to some analytics, Is-sawi's book is an excellent book to read after reading the Muqaddimah to highlight and help remember some of the most important and original insights of the work.
Ahmad Zaid (2010) presents a comprehensive analysis of the final chapter of the Muqaddimah dedicated to knowledge and education ("The Epistemology of Ibn Khaldun", 2010). According to Zaid, Ibn Khal-dun brilliantly saves this most important chapter for last, as he sees knowledge to be the culminating crown of any true civilization.
Syed Farid Alatas (2015) wrote about Ibn Khaldun and his work - "Muqaddimah". He presents a brief biography of Ibn Khaldun and a survey of his major achievements in social science, followed by a final section on "Muqaddimah" dealing with Ibn Khaldun's views on education and his scientific presentations.
Johnson Steve (2015) examines Ibn Khaldun from a contemporary perspective considering previous Muslim philosophers and the kalam tradition5 (Ibn Khal-dun's Epistemology and Philosophy of Mind, 2015).
Irwin Roberts (2019) wrote about Ibn Khaldun and noted his "Muqaddimah" in his paperback namely "Ibn Khaldun: An Intellectual Biography". According to Irwin Roberts, this book is an excellent biography written by Ibn Khaldun, focusing on the education, intellectual approach, and historical background in which he worked. A prominent Arabist, Irwin offers a nuanced view of his great mind. Roberts examines Ibn Khaldun's Sufism and how it influenced his approach to history. He has also researched the fascinating legacy of "Muqaddimah" in the Muslim world and elsewhere since Ibn Khaldun's death, helping both to explore the work itself and gain new insights into many of its subjects. Roberts also explores Ibn Khaldun's fascinating life that Ibn Khaldun was both a genius and a staunch orthodox Muslim, well versed in the jurisprudence of the Holy Book of Islam (Quran) and Maliki (one of the recognized schools of thought of Islam).
Conclusion
From this article of ours, you have learned that Ibn Khalduns work is very important to study. We would like to emphasize that if you are doing research in today's socio-humanities through this work, this work will be of great help in determining the theoretical foundations of your direction. In other words, the knowledge contained in the "Muqaddimah" is a wealth of information on history, politics, and economics,
5 Note: Kalam is a speculative theology in Islam. The term comes from the Arabic expression "kalamulloh" - "word of God", which refers to the Quran (the Holy Book of Islam).
See athttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalam
which can become the basis of modern research in each field.
References
1. Charles Issawi, 1987, An Arab Philosophy of History: Selections from the Prolegomena of Ibn Khaldun of Tunis (English and Arabic Edition).
2. Franz Rosenthal, 2007, Knowledge Triumphant: the concept of knowledge in medieval Islam., (Published in 1970 and reprinted in 2007).
3. Hamza Yusuf, 2017, "Is the Matter of Metaphysics Immaterial? Yes and No", Renovatio., Journal of Zaytuna College.
4. Ibn Hazem Al Andalusi, 2001, Jamhrat Ansab AlArab., Paperback - Unabridged, French Edition.
5. Marko Pisev, 2019, Anthropological Aspects of Ibn Khaldun 's Muqaddimah: A Critical Examination., Berose, Paris.
6. Robert Irwin 2019, Ibn Khaldun: An Intellectual Biography, Paperback.
7. Scott McLemee, 2018, The Polymath and Robert Irwin's Ibn Khaldun: An Intellectual Biography.
8. Steve A Johnson, 2015, Ibn Khaldun's Episte-mology and Philosophy of Mind (Islamic Philosophy Series), Volume 1, Paperback.
9. Syed Farid Alatas, 2006, Ibn Khaldun and Contemporary Sociology.
10. Zaid Ahmad, 2010, The Epistemology of Ibn Khaldun., ISBN 9780415612753., Published by Routledge.
