Theorization and Application in the Historiography of Ibn Khaldoon Readings in the “Muqaddimah

Abstract

The historiographical thought of Ibn Khaldoon formed an important aspect of the comprehensive, creative aspect thought of that well-known Arab scholar. But the historical aspect of that comprehensive, creative thought has not got the attention it deserves by historians. There are still many issues connected, for example, with the historical method and criticism which are in need of more research. This study deals with the method of Ibn Khaldoon in his review of the historical events included in his “Muqaddimah”, which he used as evidence of the mistakes made by his antecedent historians, their inaccuracy in transmitting the historical events, and their lack for criticizing mechanisms. Ibn Khaldoon made his “Muqaddimah” to be a criterion for writing correct history, in all its topics on top of which was “the science of urbanization” known today as sociology. But when he dealt with those historical events that his antecedent historian erroneously recorded, according to his point of view, he often contradicted the criteria he used in his “Muqaddimah” to act as instructions for historians in writing correct history void of mistakes, exaggerations, and lies, which he did not comply with. So Ibn Khaldoon theorized something, and practiced something else. The current study tries to clarify this contravention. It gives examples of the historical events and issues Ibn Khaldoon dealt with in the “Muqaddimah”. It shows how he explained, surveyed, and analyzed in a way far from the criteria he put so that these criteria would be used by the historians who would come later. Prior to discussing these examples, this paper has dealt with criticism explaining its significance in history writing. Then it has surveyed Ibn Khaldoon’s classification of historians and his criticism of their work and the reasons behind the faults in their work followed by the criteria he put to correct those mistakes. Then the paper discusses the extent Ibn Khaldoon adhered to those criteria in his history book “Al-Ibar”. In another section the extent of applying these criteria in the “Muqaddimah” has been discussed to form the main topic of this study.