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In doing so, they record it and preserve
it; they analyze historical events and
help others learn from them. They may even
predict future developments by studying
historical methods and patterns. As a
result, these men themselves from time to
time happen to influence the course of
historical development. This can well be
said about a person by the name of Wali
Al-Din ‘Abd Ar-rahman Ibn Muhammad Ibn
Muhammad Ibn Abi Bakr Muhammad Ibn Al-Hasan
Ibn Khaldun. The following paragraphs
present a brief outline of the remarkable
life and deeds of this man, who became the
greatest Arab historian and philosopher.
Ibn Khaldun’s Upbringing and Early Career
In the remote summer of 1332, somewhere in
Tunis, Wali Ibn Khaldun was born to a high
status family – descendants of Khaldun.
According to history sources and to Ibn
Khaldun’s autobiography, Khaldun was an Arab
who migrated to Spain during the first Arab
invasions to the Iberian Peninsula. In the 9th
century, the Khalduns had made Seville their
hometown and advanced to become active in
political issues, as they were one of the
three most respected families in the region.
The success of the Khaldun house lasted on
for the next four centuries throughout the
rule of the Umayad, Al Moravid, Al Mohad
dynasties. The Khaldun family members
occupied elevated political and army posts.
When European forces regained the Iberian
from the Arabs however, in 1248 the Ibn
Khalduns, as many other fellow Arabs, fled
south over to the neighboring North African
coast.
In their new settings in
Morocco and then in Tunis, the Khalduns came
to be appointed to important administrative
positions as they were of a high-class
status and well educated. Unfortunately for
still young Ibn Khaldun however, he lost his
parents to the Black Death when he was
seventeen years old. Nevertheless, he
received a solid education. Studying in
depth the classics of
Arabic literature,
he became a good writer himself, which
talent he put to good use in attracting
influential friends. He also memorized the
Quran and examined its commentaries. He
studied Prophet Mohammad's Traditions and
other fields in Islamic science. These
included Dialectical Theology, and Shari'a –
the Islamic Law of Jurisprudence, according
to the Maliki School.
At different periods after this
formal education, Ibn Khaldun further
developed his knowledge by taking up
interest in various fields. On his own, he
extensively studied geography, history, and
philosophy.
Ibn Khaldun’s first career
step was a position at the Tunis Court for
three years. After this, he served as a
secretary to the Sultan of Morocco. In the
meanwhile, he got married, but unluckily was
soon taken a prisoner because he was a
suspect of provoking uprising activities.
After he was freed about two years later, he
left to Granada and then was appointed as a
peace broker to Seville. There he oversaw
the closure of the peace treaty with Pedro I
the Cruel of Castile. When Ibn Khaldun
returned to Granada, he felt he was in the
presence of unsympathetic individuals. One
of them was the Prime Minister Ibn Al Khatib,
who might have seen him as a threat and a
competitor. Because of this, Ibn Khaldun
decided it was best to go back to North
Africa.
Studies, Teaching and the Great Al
Muqaddimah
In the next decade, Ibn Khaldun occupied
administrative positions and was also
appointed Prime Minister at one time. After
this period, tired of the busy and routine
life of the city and affairs of the state,
he decided to retreat to a rural lifestyle
with the tribe of Alwad Arif. Ibn Khaldun
was welcomed by the tribe. He was offered
accommodation for him and his family in the
castle of Qalat Ibn Salamah in present day
Algeria. Having found relative isolation, he
did much of his extensive studies in the
following four years. By the end of it, he
emerged with his magnum opus –Al Muqaddimah.
Al Muqaddimah was the
introduction to Ibn Khaldun’s book of
universal history, which he called Kitab Al
Ibar. At the onset of the project, he had
only planned to write a universal history of
the Arab people. He, however, thought it
obligatory to explain the historical method,
thus producing the masterful Al Muqaddimah,
or Introduction, before composing the book.
Somewhat ironically, as already implied, Al
Muqaddimah received much more attention than
the main book Kitab Al Ibar, which
nevertheless became the best source on
history of Muslim North Africa.
The greatness of the Al Muqaddimah was based
on the fact that it was the first-ever
analytical survey of historical processes.
The focal subject matter of this epic labor
distinguished the social, psychological,
environmental and economic characteristics
responsible for the rise and fall of human
civilization and for recurrent historical
processes. Ibn Khaldun masterfully examined
the features of group relationships and
explained how al-'Asabiyya, or group
feelings, can result in the rise of a
civilization and new political power. Thus,
he proposed a solid theory of perpetual
recurrence in the progress and decay of
human civilization.
As a result, Ibn Khaldun established two
complete new sciences. Today, we refer to
them as sociology and historiology. It seems
the author was aware of his novel methods.
In his own words, he has “written on history
a book in which I discussed the causes and
effects of the development of states and
civilizations, and I followed in arranging
the material of the book an unfamiliar
method, and I followed in writing it a
strange and innovative way.” Ibn Khaldun’s
insight about human civilization is striking
and worth comparing to present day rhetoric
on the subject. He firmly believed that
historical development is controlled by
everlasting universal laws. Going even
further, he presented the measure for
distinguishing historical fact from fiction.
He wrote that “the rule for distinguishing
what is true from what is false in history
is based on its possibility or
impossibility: That is to say, we must
examine human society and discriminate
between the characteristics which are
essential and inherent in its nature and
those which are accidental and need not be
taken into account, recognizing further
those which cannot possibly belong to it. If
we do this, we have a rule for separating
historical truth from error by means of
demonstrative methods that admits of no
doubt. It is a genuine touchstone by which
historians may verify whatever they relate.”
A related issue to the rise and decline of
civilization is presented as the
relationship between sedentary and desert
living. Al Muqaddimah examines the effect
of both on human nature and the following
example helps explain the cycle of
civilizations. Ibn Khaldun has an
interesting perspective about this. He
observes that: “The
Bedouins restrict themselves to the bare
necessities in their way of life and are
unable to go beyond them, while sedentary
people concern themselves with
conveniences and luxuries in their
conditions and customs. The bare
necessities are no doubt prior to the
conveniences and luxuries. Bare
necessities, in a way, are basic, and
luxuries secondary. Bedouins, thus, are
the basis of, and prior to, cities and
sedentary people. Man seeks first the bare
necessities. Only after he has obtained
the bare necessities does he get to
comforts and luxuries. The toughness of
desert life precedes the softness of
sedentary life. Therefore, urbanization is
found to be the goal to which the Bedouin
aspires... This is the case with all
Bedouin tribes. Sedentary people, on the
other hand, have no desire for desert
conditions, unless they are motivated by
some urgent necessity or they cannot keep
up with their fellow city dwellers.
Sedentary people are much concerned with
all kinds of pleasures. They are
accustomed to luxury and success in
worldly occupations and to indulgence in
worldly desires. Therefore, their souls
are colored with all kinds of blameworthy
and evil qualities. The more of them they
possess, the more remote do the ways and
means of goodness become to them.
Eventually they lose all sense of
restraint. It will later on become clear
that sedentary life constitutes the last
stage of civilization and the point where
it begins to decay. It also constitutes
the last stage of evil and of remoteness
from goodness. Clearly, the Bedouins are
closer to being good than sedentary
people.”
Although the Al Muqaddimah alone is regarded
as Ibn Khaldun’s most important work, the
volumes of the main book Kitab Al-Ibar were
insightful and masterfully presented. They
included the history of Arabs and the
histories of other peoples such as
Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Persians. A
large part is also devoted to the history of
Islam.
Ibn Khaldun’s stay in the Qalat Ibn Salamah
was ended by a cruel illness, because of
which he decided to return to Tunis. He
again found himself involved in some tense
relationships with rival scholars and the
ruler of Tunis. At this time, Ibn Khaldun
was fifty, and decided it was time for him
to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca, which he
eventually did. The year was 1382 when he
left Tunis, and after sailing for forty
days, Ibn Khaldun reached Alexandria where
the expedition landed. From here, Ibn
Khaldun was soon in Cairo, which had a
substantial impact on him as the most
affluent and biggest Arabic city. During the
course of his stay, Ibn Khaldun was given a
professorship at the renowned Islamic
university Al-Azhar. Soon, the ruler of
Egypt, Barquq, offered him a professorship
of jurisprudence at the Quamhiyah college.
Within five months, Ibn Khaldun became chief
Malakite rite judge, one of the four
recognized rites in Sunni Islam.
Significance of Ibn Khaldun’s life and work
Ibn Khaldun had no worthy predecessors in
the history of Muslim thought, and he had no
equal successors. He contributed to the
study of history in the most innovative and
insightful ways. For the first time ever, he
examined history through sociological,
environmental, and economic factors. He is
also praised by scholars as the father of
modern sociology. Ibn Khaldun's significance
in the sciences of history, sociology
philosophy of history, and politics, has
remained principal to the present day. No
less important are his contributions in
educational psychology, in Arabic literary
disciplines, and in the composition of
autobiography.
The books of Al Muqaddimah and Kitab Al Ibar
have been translated into many languages
throughout the world. Indeed, Al Muqaddimah
alone is worth all admiration and scientific
credit the author deserves. And quite
rightfully, like the perpetual course of
history, it has secured Ibn Khaldun an
everlasting place among the greatest
historians, sociologists and philosophers.
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