The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History

by Ibn Khaldun, N.J. Dawood (Editor), Franz Rosenthal (Translator)

Excellent Book

Genres: History, Philosophy, Politics, Islam, Nonfiction, Religion, Sociology

512 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2015

About the author

Ibn Khaldūn ابن خلدون (full name, Arabic: أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون الحضرمي‎, Abū Zayd ‘Abdu r-Raḥmān bin Muḥammad bin Khaldūn Al-Ḥaḍrami; May 27, 1332 AD/732 AH – March 19, 1406 AD/808 AH) was an Arab Muslim historiographer and historian, regarded to be among the founding fathers of modern historiography, sociology and economics.

He is best known for his book The Muqaddimah (known as Prolegomena in Greek). The book influenced 17th-century Ottoman historians like Ḥajjī Khalīfa and Mustafa Naima who used the theories in the book to analyze the growth and decline of the Ottoman Empire.[2] 19th-century European scholars also acknowledged the significance of the book and considered Ibn Khaldun as one of the greatest philosophers to come out of the Muslim world.

ولي الدين أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن محمد بن الحسن بن جابر بن محمد بن إبراهيم بن عبد الرحمن بن خالد (خلدون) الحضرمي مؤسس علم الاجتماع ومؤرخ مسلم من إفريقية في عهد الحفصيين وهي تونس حالياً ترك تراثاً مازال تأثيره ممتداً حتى اليوم.

ولد ابن خلدون في تونس عام بالدار الكائنة بنهج تربة الباي رقم 34. أسرة ابن خلدون أسرة علم وأدب فقد حفظ القرآن الكريم في طفولته وكان أبوه هو معلمه الأول. شغل أجداده في الأندلس وتونس مناصب سياسية ودينية مهمة وكانوا أهل جاه ونفوذ نزح أهله من الأندلس في منتصف القرن السابع الهجري، وتوجهوا إلى تونس وكان قدوم عائلته إلى تونس خلال حكم دولة الحفصيين.

Reviews

[Ben Davis]

One of those works that is frankly impossible to "rate" by a number of stars. Even abridged, it is a slow, dense work that I would hesitate to recommend to anyone who wasn't already deeply interested in medieval thought. But for anyone seeking to engage the medieval mind, Ibn Khaldun is essential.

Khaldun's argument and conceptual framework seem alien to "the medieval" as I previously understood it. He sounds more like an 18th or even 19th century rationalist than like Chaucer or William Langland, his temporal contemporaries. He is assertively rational and critical, where Chaucer and especially Langland are polysemous and synthetic. The Muqaddimah is a titanic work of staggering ambition - the scholarly self-confidence is breathtaking. Ibn Khaldun seeks not to write a history, but to craft the baseline against which all history can be measured. In his mind, the truth of tradition, as it relates to history, can be gauged by whether the tradition corresponds with the nature of reality. The Muqaddimah is nothing less than his total explication of the nature and operation of human society.

Striking in Ibn Khaldun's explanation of human civilization is his ambivalence toward that civilization. On the one hand, he positions himself as an exemplar of the achievements of complex, sedentary civilization. But the way of the desert stands at all times in judgement on the decadence of civilization. It is the desert folk who are the truly powerful, whether they be Arabian or Mongolian. And yet the desert folk inevitably succumb to the ways of civilization and become no better than those they conquer. In Ibn Khaldun's imagining, the cycle of desert to power to civilization to decadence is the constant drum beat of history. What is striking in his narration, which as a sequence is not unique, is that there is no "golden age" of civilization. The becoming "civilized" is itself the first manifestation of decadence. Decadence is not a corruption of civilization but is essential to it.

Ibn Khaldun's rationalist account of human civilization nonetheless partakes of some of the same basic assumptions about human thought that animates the poetry of Chaucer and Langland. For all three, rationality is fundamental to what it means to be human. For all three, however, that rationality is not essentially critical or analytical. Instead, the basis of reason is imagination, the capacity to produce in the mind images from sense impressions. It is those products of imagination that can then be ordered and analyzed.

[Rawan]

Can't believe I just finished reading a translation of a 14th century book. Really curious to read the original Arabic text. It's amazing how close and distant this book felt. A lot of material on "group feeling," which I had to look up the original term and it's "عصبية," in relation to dynasties, religious groups and civilizations. Group feeling is necessary in Muslim communities, yet the Prophet PBUH urged us to leave this feeling alone. He said: "God removed from you the arrogance of pre-Islamic times and its pride in ancestry. You are the children of Adam, and Adam was made of dust? God said: Most noble among you in God's eyes is he who fears God most." The introduction discusses the sequence of the book and how sciences were introduced last because they were considered a luxury, in contrast to crafts which were integral to urban life. The argument Ibn Khaldun makes on how Islam arose out of a context of orality and nomadism/primitivism (badâwah) to become a proponent of both writing and civilization (hadârah) is profound. What had been speech and a habit became writing and a craft. I found it funny when he mentioned how people back then exaggerated, and how even in the descriptions of armies and wealthy people, reality was usually a 1/10th of reality - human behavior may not be as variable as one thinks. It was interesting to read of the "temperate" and "intemperate" zones, and how of people of "intemperance" differed in even their lack of clothing, food, and business dealings. I think it was unjust to also refer to their character and qualities as those of dumb animals. It was very interesting to read Ibn Khaldun's take on desert people, "They are mostly found restricted to milk, which is for them a very good substitute for wheat. In spite of this, the desert people who lack grain and seasonings are found to be healthier in body and better in character than the hill people who have plenty of everything. Their complexions are clearer, their bodies cleaner, their figures more perfect, their character less intemperate, and their minds keener as far as knowledge and perception are concerned... As compared with those of sedentary people, their evil ways and blameworthy qualities are much less numerous. They are closer to the first natural state and more emote from the evil habits that have been impressed upon the souls of sedentary people through numerous and ugly, blameworthy customs." I do agree with the fact that anybody who is able to suffer hunger or eat only little, is physically better off if he stays hungry than if he eats too much. I think the argument that prestige in a family lasts at best four generations has some merit to it, "The builder of the family's glory knows what it cost him to do the work, and he keeps the qualities that created his glory and made it last. The son who comes after him had personal contact with his father and thus learned those things from him. However, he is inferior to him in this respect, inasmuch as a person who learns things through study is inferior to a person who knows them from practical application. The third generation must be content with imitation and, in particular, with reliance upon tradition. This member is inferior to him of the second generation, inasmuch as a person who relies upon tradition is inferior to a person who exercises independent judgment." I definitely agreed with the behavioral observation on when people get accustomed to a great number of things, their expenses become higher than their allowance, and their income is no longer sufficient to cover their expenditure, which is aggravated further in latter generations. On the Mahdi, the truth one must know is that no religious or political propaganda can be successful, unless power and group feeling exist to support the religious and political aspirations and to defend them against those who reject them. It's interesting to point that there are few cities in Ifriqiah and the Maghrib because of their Bedouin civilization and their unfamiliarity with crafts. On the occupations of servitude, "This situation is not praiseworthy from the point of view of manliness, which is natural to man, since it is weakness to rely on persons (other than oneself). It also adds to one's duties and expenditure, and indicates a weakness and effeminacy that ought to be avoided in the interest of manliness" - what a viewpoint! Loved the emphasis on habits rather than understanding and memorization with regard to the sciences. "This is because skill in a science, knowledge of its diverse aspects, and mastery of it are the result of a habit which enables its possessor to comprehend all the basic principles of that particular science, to become acquainted with its problems, and to evolve the details of it from its principles." Abu Naşr al-Fârâbi and Abû 'Ali Ibn Sinâ (Avicenna) in the East, and Judge Abû Walid b. Rushd (Averroës) and the wazir Abû Bakr b. aş-Şa'igh (Avempace) in Spain were among the greatest Muslim philosophers. It's funny how Jâbir b. Hayyn is referred to as the chief sorcerer of Islam, because of his involvement in alchemy, which was grouped with sorcery. Lastly, Ibn Khaldun describes an effective method of instruction as one that requires threefold repetition. First for understanding and acquaintance. Second involved instruction on a higher level with full commentaries and explanations. Third, when the student is solidly grounded, he bares all the secrets of the discipline to him.

[Ayah Malouhi]

Amazing work on the rise and fall of societies and it makes you realise how advanced people were during his time. The book gave me a completely new perspective on the world as well as helped organise ideas I already had. I especially loved section six on the various sciences and his critique of philosophy.

[A, Dean]

This book is one of the best books on historiography as well as on early thought in the Muslim world, It showed the type of thinking they had during the early 10-11 century. no these people back then were not stupid but were logical people that read the greek philosophers and learned from them. Ibn Khaldum was first introduced to me during a historiography class and his book has sat on my shelf ever since. my professor call Khaldun the first modern historian due to his systemic process of sourcing, seeing motivation in all the key players in the what ever historical event they are part of. Khaldun is very much a student of Aristotle but at the same time resents him favoring instead a traditional desert nomadic lifestyle that is closer to that of the prophet but at the same time he cannot help himself he is a urban dweller scholar through and through. this book is great but understand it is also of its time his views on slavery and homosexuality has not aged well. highly recommend this book

[Ashraf]

One of the classics of Islamic literature discussing a wide range of topics. From how civilizations rise and fall, to each different role of an Islamic government, to every different kind of science, to so much more. Yes it is a difficult read, and yes it does have some outdated concepts and perspectives, but the revolutionary ideas Ibn Khaldun has will forever stick with me. The concept of strong men create good times, good times create weak men, weak men create bad times, bad times create strong men is his concept and is expanded on throughout the text. Overall, a true gem. A scholar’s magnum opus that changed the world.

[lily pham~]

"Preliminary Remarks" and "Human Civilization in General" (Ch. 1) (pp. 35-48); Sections 1-13 and 21-26 in "Chapter 3" (pp. 123-138; 151-160); "Prefatory Discussion" (Ch. 6) (pp. 333-343); Sections 30-36 (pp. 398-420).

Group feeling, royal authority and their relationship to democracy. Actually pretty interesting read!

[Sakariya Mahad]

Saaaaki

[Shah Ali Ali K.]

the translation is boring - but amazed by the foresight and understanding of a 14th century intellectual.

[Aidan Burns]

Thomas Hobbes owes rent to this guy

[Zeckrin Rahman]

A really lengthy but informative, in depth and interesting introduction. Many interesting concepts and perspectives of its period, with some being relevant in today’s world.

[ice]

I read the introduction and mainly Chapters 3-5. The introduction impressed me with how structured and systematic it claims to be, which raised my expectation a lot for the main text. But when I read them, I think Ibn Khaldun may have gone beyond his peers, but he was still deeply shaped by his own time and culture.

I watched Pasolini’s Arabian Nights before reading, and that unexpectedly helped me understand this unfamiliar cultural world a little better. I should do this more. Pair a nonfiction with films/novels from the same culture