Muqaddimah |
The Muqaddimah, or the Muqaddimah of Ibn Khaldun (Arabic: مقدّمة ابن خلدون, "Introduction"), or the Prolegomena in Latin, records an early Muslim view of universal history. Many modern thinkers view it as one of the first works of sociology. The Arab historian Ibn Khaldun wrote the work in 1377 as the preface or first book of his planned world history, the kitab al-ibar (lit. Book of Advice), but already in his lifetime it became regarded as an independent work.
Against the seventh point (the ignorance of social laws) Ibn Khaldun lays out his theory of human society in theMuqaddimah.
Sati' al-Husri suggested that Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddimah is essentially a sociological work, sketching over its six books a general sociology; a sociology of politics; a sociology of urban life; a sociology of economics; and a sociology of knowledge.
The concept of "'asabiyyah" (Arabic "tribalism, clanism, modernly used for nationalism too" , a concept difficult to translate to English) is one of the most well-known aspects of the Muqaddimah.
Ibn Khaldun argues, effectively, that each dynasty has within itself the seeds of its own downfall. He explains that ruling houses tend to emerge on the peripheries of great empires and use the unity presented by those areas to their advantage in order to bring about a change in leadership. As the new rulers establish themselves at the center of their empire, they become increasingly lax and more concerned with maintaining their lifestyles. Thus, a new dynasty can emerge at the periphery of their control and effect a change in leadership, beginning the cycle anew.
Khaldun's central concept of asabiyah, or "social cohesion", seems to anticipate modern conceptions of social capitalarising in social networks:
This cohesion arises spontaneously in tribes and other small kinship groups; and it can be intensified and enlarged by a religious ideology. Khaldun's analysis looks at how this cohesion carries groups to power but contains within itself the seeds - psychological, sociological, economic, political - of the group's downfall, to be replaced by a new group, dynasty or empire bound by a stronger (or at least younger and more vigorous) cohesion.
Interestingly, Khaldun's concept is instinctive and does not involve any social contract or explicit forms of constitutionor other instructional capital that would provide a basis for appeals, in law or otherwise.
Perhaps the most well known Islamic scholar who wrote abouteconomics was Ibn Khaldun ofTunisia(1332–1406).[2]Ibn Khaldun wrote on economic and political theory in the introduction, orMuqaddimah (Prolegomena), of his History of the World (Kitab al-Ibar). In the book, he discussed what he called asabiyyah (social cohesion), which he sourced as the cause of some civilizations becoming great and others not. Ibn Khaldun felt that many social forces are cyclic, although there can be sudden sharp turns that break the pattern.[3] His idea about the benefits of the division of labor also relate to asabiyya, the greater the social cohesion, the more complex the successful division may be, the greater the economic growth. He noted that growth and development positively stimulate both supply and demand, and that the forces of supply and demand are what determine the prices of goods.[4] He also noted macroeconomic forces of population growth, human capitaldevelopment, and technological developments effects on development.[5] In fact, Ibn Khaldun thought that population growth was directly a function of wealth. [6]
Although he understood that money served as a standard of value, a medium of exchange, and a preserver of value, he did not realize that the value of gold and silver changed based on the forces of supply and demand.[7]
Ibn Khaldun used a dialectic approach to describe the sociological implications of tax choices, which is now part ofeconomics:
This analysis is the modern economic concept known as the Khaldun-Laffer Curve.
The first detailed studies on the subject of historiography itself and the first critiques on historical methods appeared in the works of the Arab Muslim historian and historiographer Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406), who is regarded as the father ofhistoriography, cultural history,[8] and the philosophy of history, especially for his historiographical writings in theMuqaddimah (Latinized as Prolegomena) and Kitab al-Ibar (Book of Advice).[9] His Muqaddimah also laid the groundwork for the observation of the role of state, communication, propaganda and systematic bias in history,[10] and he discussed the rise and fall of civilizations.
Franz Rosenthal wrote in the History of Muslim Historiography:
Content
Ibn Khaldun starts the Muqaddimah with a thorough criticism of the mistakes regularly committed by his fellow historians and the difficulties which await the historian in his work. He notes seven critical issues:"All records, by their very nature, are liable to error...
- ...Partisanship towards a creed or opinion...
- ...Over-confidence in one's sources...
- ...The failure to understand what is intended...
- ...A mistaken belief in the truth...
- ...The inability to place an event in its real context
- ...The common desire to gain favor of those of high ranks, by praising them, by spreading their fame...
- ...The most important is the ignorance of the laws governing the transformation of human society."
Against the seventh point (the ignorance of social laws) Ibn Khaldun lays out his theory of human society in theMuqaddimah.
Sati' al-Husri suggested that Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddimah is essentially a sociological work, sketching over its six books a general sociology; a sociology of politics; a sociology of urban life; a sociology of economics; and a sociology of knowledge.
Sociology
- See also: and
'Asabiyyah
The concept of "'asabiyyah" (Arabic "tribalism, clanism, modernly used for nationalism too" , a concept difficult to translate to English) is one of the most well-known aspects of the Muqaddimah.
Ibn Khaldun argues, effectively, that each dynasty has within itself the seeds of its own downfall. He explains that ruling houses tend to emerge on the peripheries of great empires and use the unity presented by those areas to their advantage in order to bring about a change in leadership. As the new rulers establish themselves at the center of their empire, they become increasingly lax and more concerned with maintaining their lifestyles. Thus, a new dynasty can emerge at the periphery of their control and effect a change in leadership, beginning the cycle anew.
Khaldun's central concept of asabiyah, or "social cohesion", seems to anticipate modern conceptions of social capitalarising in social networks:
This cohesion arises spontaneously in tribes and other small kinship groups; and it can be intensified and enlarged by a religious ideology. Khaldun's analysis looks at how this cohesion carries groups to power but contains within itself the seeds - psychological, sociological, economic, political - of the group's downfall, to be replaced by a new group, dynasty or empire bound by a stronger (or at least younger and more vigorous) cohesion.
Interestingly, Khaldun's concept is instinctive and does not involve any social contract or explicit forms of constitutionor other instructional capital that would provide a basis for appeals, in law or otherwise.
Conflict theory
Ibn Khaldun conceived both a central social conflict ("town" versus "desert") as well as a theory (using the concept of a "generation") of the necessary loss of power of city conquerors coming from the desert.Similarities to modern sociology
The sociology of the Muqaddimah is more similar to the theories developed by Hegel or Marx in emphasizing dialecticor feedback loops, or systems theory as applied to fields such as corporate social responsibility, than to the theories ofDurkheim and others who emphasized structures. There is a remarkable similarity between modern economic ideas and some ideas developed by the thinkers evoked here, especially Ibn Khaldun.Economics
)
| When civilization [population] increases, the available labor again increases. In turn, luxury again increases in correspondence with the increasing profit, and the customs and needs of luxury increase. Crafts are created to obtain luxury products. The value realized from them increases, and, as a result, profits are again multiplied in the town. Production there is thriving even more than before. And so it goes with the second and third increase. All the additional labor serves luxury and wealth, in contrast to the original labor that served the necessity of life. [1] |
| Ibn Khaldun on economic growth |
Perhaps the most well known Islamic scholar who wrote abouteconomics was Ibn Khaldun ofTunisia(1332–1406).[2]Ibn Khaldun wrote on economic and political theory in the introduction, orMuqaddimah (Prolegomena), of his History of the World (Kitab al-Ibar). In the book, he discussed what he called asabiyyah (social cohesion), which he sourced as the cause of some civilizations becoming great and others not. Ibn Khaldun felt that many social forces are cyclic, although there can be sudden sharp turns that break the pattern.[3] His idea about the benefits of the division of labor also relate to asabiyya, the greater the social cohesion, the more complex the successful division may be, the greater the economic growth. He noted that growth and development positively stimulate both supply and demand, and that the forces of supply and demand are what determine the prices of goods.[4] He also noted macroeconomic forces of population growth, human capitaldevelopment, and technological developments effects on development.[5] In fact, Ibn Khaldun thought that population growth was directly a function of wealth. [6]
Although he understood that money served as a standard of value, a medium of exchange, and a preserver of value, he did not realize that the value of gold and silver changed based on the forces of supply and demand.[7]
Khaldun-Laffer Curve
He introduced the concept known as the Khaldun-Laffer Curve (the relationship between tax rates and tax revenue increases as tax rates increase for a while, but then the increases in tax rates begin to cause a decrease in tax revenues as the taxes impose too great a cost to producers in the economy).Ibn Khaldun used a dialectic approach to describe the sociological implications of tax choices, which is now part ofeconomics:
This analysis is the modern economic concept known as the Khaldun-Laffer Curve.
Historiography
- See also:
The first detailed studies on the subject of historiography itself and the first critiques on historical methods appeared in the works of the Arab Muslim historian and historiographer Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406), who is regarded as the father ofhistoriography, cultural history,[8] and the philosophy of history, especially for his historiographical writings in theMuqaddimah (Latinized as Prolegomena) and Kitab al-Ibar (Book of Advice).[9] His Muqaddimah also laid the groundwork for the observation of the role of state, communication, propaganda and systematic bias in history,[10] and he discussed the rise and fall of civilizations.
Franz Rosenthal wrote in the History of Muslim Historiography:
Systematic bias
The Muqaddimah further emphasized the role of systemic bias in affecting the standard of evidence. Khaldun was quite concerned with the effect of raising standard of evidence when confronted with uncomfortable claims, and relaxing it when given claims that seemed reasonable or comfortable. He was a jurist, and sometimes participated reluctantly in rulings that he felt were coerced, based on arguments he didn't respect. Khaldun had few successors in his thinking about history until Arnold J. Toynbee, a 20th century British historian.Biology
Ibn Khaldun wrote the following on the biological theory of evolution:[11]Hadith
Some of the content is related to the "Hadith of Persians and belief":| Thus the founders of grammar were Sibawaih and after him, al-Farisi and Az-Zajjaj. All of them were of Persian descent…they invented rules of (Arabic) grammar…great jurists were Persians… only the Persians engaged in the task of preserving knowledge and writing systematic scholarly works. Thus the truth of the statement of the prophet becomes apparent, "If learning were suspended in the highest parts of heaven the Persians would attain it"…The intellectual sciences were also the preserve of the Persians, left alone by the Arabs, who did not cultivate them…as was the case with all crafts…This situation continued in the cities as long as the Persians and Persian countries, Iraq,Khorasan and Transoxiana (modern Central Asia), retained their sedentary culture.[12] |
See also
External link
References
1. ^ Muqaddimah 2:272-73 quoted in Weiss (1995) p 30
2. ^ Schumpeter (1954) p 136 mentions his his sociology, others, including Hosseini (2003) emphasize him as well
3. ^ Weiss (1995) p29-30
4. ^ Weiss (1995) p31 quotes Muqaddimah 2:276-278
5. ^ Weiss (1995) p31 quotes Muqaddimah 2:272-273
6. ^ Weiss (1995) p33
7. ^ Weiss (1995) p 32
8. ^ Mohamad Abdalla (Summer 2007). "Ibn Khaldun on the Fate of Islamic Science after the 11th Century", Islam & Science 5 (1), p. 61-70.
9. ^ S. Ahmed (1999). A Dictionary of Muslim Names. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. ISBN 1850653569.
10. ^ H. Mowlana (2001). "Information in the Arab World", Cooperation South Journal 1.
11. ^ Muqaddimah, p. 74-75.
12. ^ "The Muqaddimah", Translated by F. Rosenthal (III, pp. 311-15, 271-4 [Arabic]; R.N. Frye (p.91). He translated the Arabic word "Ajam" into "Persians"
2. ^ Schumpeter (1954) p 136 mentions his his sociology, others, including Hosseini (2003) emphasize him as well
3. ^ Weiss (1995) p29-30
4. ^ Weiss (1995) p31 quotes Muqaddimah 2:276-278
5. ^ Weiss (1995) p31 quotes Muqaddimah 2:272-273
6. ^ Weiss (1995) p33
7. ^ Weiss (1995) p 32
8. ^ Mohamad Abdalla (Summer 2007). "Ibn Khaldun on the Fate of Islamic Science after the 11th Century", Islam & Science 5 (1), p. 61-70.
9. ^ S. Ahmed (1999). A Dictionary of Muslim Names. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. ISBN 1850653569.
10. ^ H. Mowlana (2001). "Information in the Arab World", Cooperation South Journal 1.
11. ^ Muqaddimah, p. 74-75.
12. ^ "The Muqaddimah", Translated by F. Rosenthal (III, pp. 311-15, 271-4 [Arabic]; R.N. Frye (p.91). He translated the Arabic word "Ajam" into "Persians"
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