RANA MUHAMMAD BILAL AKRAM 10154

MUHAMMAD BILAL AHMAD 10133

MUHAMMAD SHOAIB 10111
MAILK IMRAN YASIR 10109
ALI NIAZI 10149
IBN-E-KHALDOON

INTRODUCTION:
Ibn Khaldun is the most main figure in the field of History and Sociology in
Muslim History. He is one of those shining stars that contributed so richly to the
understanding of Civilization. In order for one to understand and appreciate his
work one must understand his life. He lived a life in search of stability and
influence. He came from a family of scholars and politicians and he intended to
live up to both e!pectations. He would succeed in the field of Scholarship much
more so than in any other field.
"ull name
He is #bdurahman bin Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Muhammad bin #l$Hasan
bin %abir bin Muhammad bin Ibrahim bin #bdurahman bin Ibn Khaldun
&orn
Ibn Khaldun was born in 'unis on (amadan ) *+,#H -May ,* )++,..
EDUCATION
He received a traditional education that was typical of his family/s rank and status.
He learned first at the hands of his father who was a scholarly person who was not
involved in politics like his ancestors. He memorized the 0ur/an by heart learned
grammar %urisprudence Hadith rhetoric philology and poetry. He continued
studies until the age of )1 when the great plague would sweep over the lands from
Samarkand to Mauritania. It was after this plague that Ibn Khaldun would receive
his first public assignment.'his would start his political career that would forever
change his life.
2ied
)1 March )345 #2 6 747 #H
8pon Ibn Khaldun/s return to 9gypt he was restored as the Malikite 0adi. 2ue to
the political situation within the community of Malikite 0adis Ibn Khaldun would
be dismissed and reinstated three times during the five$year period. "inally he died
while he was in office on :ednesday March )*th )345 -,;th of (amadan 747.. He
was buried in the Sufi Cemetery outside &ab an$<asr Cairo at the age of seventy$
four years.
9ra
Medieval era
(egion
Muslim scholar
School
Maliki madhab
Islamic economic =urisprudence
Main interests
Social Sciences Sociology History Historiography Cultural History >hilosophy
of History 2emography 2iplomacy 9conomics Islamic Studies Military 'heory
>hilosophy >olitics Statecraft 'heology
<otable ideas
"orerunner of demography historiography cultural history philosophy of history
sociology social sciences and modern economics. 2eveloped theories of
#sabiyyah and the rise and fall of civilizations.
Phil!"h# $ hi!%&#
'he main philospies of Ibn Khaldun is philospies of history and
demography.However he is interested in2iplomacy 9conomics Islamic Studies
Military 'heory >hilosophy >olitics Statecraft 'heology"orerunner of
demography historiography cultural history philosophy of history sociology
social sciences and modern economics. 2eveloped theories of #sabiyyah and the
rise and fall of civilizations.
In the )3th century Ibn Khaldun who is considered one of the fathers of the
philosophy of history discussed his philosophy of history and society in detail in
his Muqaddimah -)+**..
'he term philosophy of history refers to the theoretical aspect of history in two
senses. It is customary to distinguish critical philosophy of history from
speculative philosophy of history
Sometimes critical philosophy of history is included under historiography.
>hilosophy of history should not be confused with the history of philosophy which
is the study of the development of philosophical ideas through time.Speculative
philosophy of history asks at least three basic ?uestions@
:hat is the proper unit for the study of the human past the individual
sub=ectA
#re there any broad patterns that we can discern through the study of the
human pastA #re there for e!ample patterns of progressA Br cyclesA Is
history deterministicA
If history can indeed be said to progress what is its ultimate directionA :hat
-if any. is the driving force of that progressA
(eferences -#n Introduction to the >hilosophy of History by >aul <ewall
aimed at beginners. 2aniel Cittle >hilosophy of History Stanford 9ncyclopedia of
>hilosophy.
"ather of sociology
Ibne khulidun is known as father of sociology.He did a lot of work in this field and
socioDogy is one of his main contribution.
Sociology is the science whose ob=ect is to interpret the meaning of social action
and thereby give a causal explanation of the way in which the action proceeds and
the effects which it produces. &y EactionE in this definition is meant the human
behaviour when and to the e!tent that the agent or agents. 'he meaning to which
we refer may be either the meaning actually intended either by an individual agent
on a particular historical occasion or by a number of agents on an appro!imate
average in a given set of cases In which he gave the concept of positivism and
antipositivismconflict theory functionalism and socialization.
'll(i)* $+& ,&- i.)---/h,l0+)1! 2,3& 4)%&i.+%i)! :
). Methodology for writing studying and understanding history
,. 'heory of social solidarity i$e al$asabiya
+. Classification of society in rural and urban
3. Cyclic theory of social change$thus pioneering what came to be known as
Fconflict perspectiveF later.
CHEIF CO!"I#$!IO
Ibn KhaldunEs chief contribution lies in philosophy of history and sociology.
&IG #CHI9H9M9<'
Mu?addimah or I>rolegomena/ was based on Ibn KhaldunEs uni?ue approach and
original contribution.
In this conte!t he analysed the dynamics of group relationships and showed how
group$feelings al$E#sabiyya give rise to the ascent of a new civilisation and
political power and how later on its diffusion into a more general civilization
invites the advent of a still new E#sabiyya in its pristine form.
"amous &ooks
He wrote many books but his famous books are@
His first book CubJbu l$Muhassal a commentary on the Islamic theology of "akhr
al$2in al$(azi was written at the age of )1 under the supervision of his teacher al$
KbilL in 'unis.In the )3th century
Mu?addimah or E>rolegomenaE
Ibn Khaldun who is considered one of the fathers of the philosophy of history
discussed his philosophy of history and society in detail in his Muqaddimah
-)+**..# work on Sufism Sif%&u l'S%&il was composed around )+*+ in "es
Morocco
Morocco was based on Ibn KhaldunEs uni?ue approach and original contribution
Kitab al$IEbar
'he other 5 volumes of his world history Kitab al$IEbar deal with the history of
contemporary Muslim M 9uropean rulers ancient history of #rabs %ews Greeks
(omans >ersians etc.especially that of &erbers and tribes living in the ad=oining
areas.
#l$'asrif.
'H9 last volume deals mainly with the events of his own life
Cyclical and linear history
Given that human beings are currently understood by humans to be the single
9arthly creatures capable of abstract thought a perception of time and a
manipulation of thought concerning the past the future and the present an in?uiry
into the nature of history is based in part on some working understanding of time in
the human e!perience.
History -as contemporarily understood by :estern thought. tends to follow an
assumption of linear progression@ Fthis happened and then that happenedD that
happened because this happened first.F 'his is in part a reflection of :estern
'houghtEs foundation of cause and effect.
In the 9ast cyclical theories of history were developed in China -as a theory of
dynastic cycle. and in the Islamic world byIbn Khaldun.
'he story of the "all of Man from the Garden of 9den in %udaism and Christianity
can be seen in a similar light which would give the basis for theodicies which
attempts to reconcile the e!istence of evil in the world with the e!istence of God
creating a global e!planation of history with the belief in a Messianic #ge.
'heodicies claimed that history had a progressive direction leading to an
eschatological end such as the #pocalypse given by a superior power. #ugustine
of Hippo Ceibniz who coined the term was the most famous philosopher who
created a theodicy. Ceibniz based his e!planation on the principle of sufficient
reason which states that anything that happens does happen for a specific reason.
'hus what man saw as evil such as wars epidemia and natural disasters was in
fact only an effect of his perceptionD if one adopted GodEs view this evil event in
fact only took place in the larger divine plan. Hence theodicies e!plained the
necessity of evil as a relative element that forms part of a larger plan of history.
CeibnizEs principle of sufficient reason was not however a gesture of fatalism.
Confronted with the anti?ue problem of future contingents Ceibniz invented the
theory of Fcompossible worldsF distinguishing two types of necessity to cope with
the problem of determinism.
Cyclical conceptions were maintained in the )1th and ,4th centuries by authors
such as Bswald Spengler <ikolay 2anilevsky and >aul Kennedy who conceived
the human past as a series of repetitive rises and falls. Spengler like &utterfield
was writing in reaction to the carnage of the first :orld :ar believed that a
civilization enters upon an era of Caesarism after its soul dies. He thought that the
soul of the :est was dead and Caesarism was about to begin.
D-2*&,"h#
2emography is the statistical study of human populations. It can be a very
common science that can be applied to any kind of dynamic human population
that is one that changes over time or space -see population dynamics.. It
encompasses the study of the size structure and distribution of these populations
and spatial and6or temporal changes in them in response to birth migration aging
and death.
2emographic analysis can be applied to whole societies or to groups defined by
criteria such as education nationality religion and ethnicity. Institutionally
demography is usually considered a field of sociology though there are a number
of independent demography departments.
N)O "ormal demography limits its ob=ect of study to the measurement of
populations processes while the more broad field of social demography population
studies also analyze the relationships between economic social cultural and
biological processes influencing a population.
N,O'he term demographics is often used erroneously for demography but refers
rather to selected population characteristics as used in government marketing or
opinion research or the demographic profiles used in such research.
'he Ibne khulidun discovered two methods of data collecting . #ccroding to him
'here are two methods of data collection@ direct and indirect. 2irect data come
from vital statistics registries that track all births and deaths as well as certain
changes in legal status such as marriage divorce and migration -registration of
place of residence.. In developed countries with good registration systems -such as
the 8nited States and much of 9urope. registry statistics are the best method for
estimating the number of births and deaths. (eferences -2emography at the Bpen
2irectory >ro=ect Historicalstatistics.org Cinks to historical demographic and
economic statistics 8nited <ations >opulation 2ivision Homepage -e.g. >opulation
9stimates and >ro=ections 2ata Bnline.
C+l%+&,l hi!%&#
'he term cultural history refers both to an academic discipline and to its sub=ect
matter.
Cultural history as a discipline at least in its common definition since the )1*4s
often combines the approaches of anthropology and history to look at popular
cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical e!perience. It e!amines
the records and narrative descriptions of past knowledge customs and arts of a
group of people. Its sub=ect matter encompasses the continuum of events occurring
in succession leading from the past to the present and even into the future
pertaining to a culture.
Cultural history records and interprets past events involving human beings through
the social cultural and political milieu of or relating to the arts and manners that a
group favors. %acob &urckhardt helped found cultural history as a discipline.
Cultural history studies and interprets the record of human societies by denoting
the various distinctive ways of living built up by a group of people under
consideration. Cultural history involves the aggregate of past cultural activity such
as ceremony class in practices and the interaction with locales.
Cultural studies is an academic discipline popular among a diverse group of
scholars. It combines political economy communication sociology social theory
literary theory media theory film6video studies cultural anthropology
philosophy museum studies and art history6criticism to study cultural phenomena
in various societies. Cultural studies researchers often concentrate on how a
particular phenomenon relates to matters of ideology nationality ethnicity social
class and6or gender. 'he term was coined by (ichard Hoggart in )153 when he
founded the &irmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies. It has since
become strongly associated with Stuart Hall who succeeded Hoggart as 2irector.
S4il*#
Is the study of society. It is a social sciencePa term with which it is sometimes
synonymousPwhich uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical
analysis to develop and refine a body of knowledge about human social activity
often with the goal of applying such knowledge to the pursuit of social welfare.
Sub=ect matter ranges from the micro level of agency and interaction to the macro
level of systems and social structures.
Sociology is both topically and methodologically a very broad discipline. Its
traditional focuses have included social stratification social class social mobility
religion law and deviance. #s all spheres of human activity are sculpted by social
structure and individual agency sociology has gradually e!panded its focus to
further sub=ects such as health military and penal institutions the Internet and
even the role of social activity in the development of scientific knowledge. In
sociology conflict theory socialization role and status are also learned.
(eferences -Computational Social ScienceF. Science +,+ -;1);.@ *,)Q*,+.
doi@)4.)),56science.))5**3,.
Main Contributions
Ibn KhaldunEs chief contribution lies in philosophy of history and sociology. He
sought to write a world history preambled by a first volume aimed at an analysis of
historical events. 'his volume commonly known as Muqaddimah or
E>rolegomenaE was based on Ibn KhaldunEs uni?ue approach and original
contribution and became a masterpiece in literature on philosophy of history and
sociology. 'he chief concern of this monumental work was to identify
psychological economic environmental and social facts that contribute to the
advancement of human civilization and the currents of history. In this conte!t he
analysed the dynamics of group relationships and showed how group$feelings
al'&(sa)iyya give rise to the ascent of a new civilisation and political power and
how later on its diffusion into a more general civilization invites the advent of a
still new &(sa)iyya in its pristine form. He identified an almost rhythmic repetition
of rise and fall in human civilization and analysed factors contributing to it. His
contribution to history is marked by the fact that unlike most earlier writers
interpreting history largely in a political conte!t he emphasised environmental
sociological psychological and economic factors governing the apparent events.
'his revolutionised the science of history and also laid the foundation of
$mraniyat -Sociology..
#part from the Muqaddimah that became an important independent book even
during the lifetime of the author the other volumes of his world history *ita) al'
I&)ar deal with the history of #rabs contemporary Muslim rulers contemporary
9uropean rulers ancient history of #rabs %ews Greeks (omans >ersians etc.
Islamic History 9gyptian history and <orth$#frican history especially that of
&erbers and tribes living in the ad=oining areas. 'he last volume deals largely with
the events of his own life and is known as (l'!asrif. 'his was also written in a
scientific manner and initiated a new analytical tradition in the art of writing
autobiography. # book on mathematics written by him is not e!tant.
Ibn KhaldunEs influence on the sub=ect of history philosophy of history
sociology political science and education has remained paramount ever since
his life. His books have been translated into many languages both in the 9ast
and the :est and have inspired subse?uent development of these sciences.
"or instance >rof. Gum >loughs and Kolosio consider Muqaddimah as
superior in scholarship to MachiavelliEs !he +rince written a century later as
the forrner bases the diagnosis more on cultural sociological economic and
psychological factors.'he most well known Islamic scholar who wrote about
economics was Ibn Khaldun of 'unis who is considered a forerunner of
modern economics.
.Cets have a bird eye view on his remarkable work.
Cabor 'heory of Halue
Cabor 9conomics D Cabor as the Source of Growth and Capital
#ccumulation.
2emand Supply >rices M >rofits
Modern price theory states that cost is the backbone of supply theory it
was I&<$KH#C28< who first e!amined analytically the role of cost of
production on supply and prices.
#nd it was Ibn khaldun <B' "rank Knight who originally advanced the
theory of profit.
He also concluded that both e!cessively low prices and e!cessively high
prices are disruptive to markets.
In fact he discovered what is now known as cost push and demand pull
inflation.
Macro 9conomics Growth ta!es role of government and Money
R9!penditure of one citizen are income to othersS this e?uality was first
introduced by Ibn$e$Khaldun.
He was the pioneer in introducing the R theory of GrowthS based on
capital accumulation
Ibn$e$Khaldun was the first ma=or contributor to Rtheory of 'a!ationS in
the history.
"oreign 'rade
He also contributed a lot in the field of International 9conomics.
Ibe khaldun was of the view the peopleTs satisfaction merchantTs profit
and countries wealth all these will increase through foreign trade.
He also introduced the concept of Ropportunity costS
',%h-& $ !4il*#
'he overarching methodological principle of positivism is to conduct sociology in
broadly the same manner as natural science. #n emphasis on empiricism and the
scientific method is sought to provide a tested foundation for sociological research
based on the assumption that the only authentic knowledge is scientific knowledge
and that such knowledge can only arrive by positive affirmation through scientific
methodology.
FBur main goal is to e!tend scientific rationalism to human conduct... :hat
has been called our positivism is but a conse?uence of this rationalism.F
In the original Comtean usage FpositivismF roughly meant the use of scientific
methods to uncover the laws according to which both physical and human events
occur while FsociologyF was the overarching science that would synthesize all
such knowledge for the betterment of society@
F'he most important thing to determine was the natural order in which the
sciences stand P not how they can be made to stand but how they must
stand irrespective of the wishes of any one....'his Comte accomplished by
taking as the criterion of the position of each the degree of what he called
FpositivityF which is simply the degree to which the phenomena can be
e!actly determined. 'his as may be readily seen is also a measure of their
relative comple!ity since the e!actness of a science is in inverse proportion
to its comple!ity. 'he degree of e!actness or positivity is moreover that to
which it can be sub=ected to mathematical demonstration and therefore
mathematics which is not itself a concrete science is the general gauge by
which the position of every science is to be determined. Generalizing thus
Comte found that there were five great groups of phenomena of e?ual
classificatory value but of successively decreasing positivity. 'o these he
gave the names astronomy physics chemistry biology and sociology.F
Q Cester ". :ard 'he Butlines of Sociology -)717. N3,O
(ntipositi,ism
(eactions against social empiricism began when German philosopher Hegel voiced
opposition to both empiricism which he re=ected as uncritical and determinism
which he viewed as overly mechanistic. Karl Mar!Es methodology borrowed from
Hegelian dialecticism but also a re=ection of positivism in favour of critical
analysis seeking to supplement the empirical ac?uisition of FfactsF with the
elimination of illusions. He maintained that appearances need to be criti?ued rather
than simply documented. 9arly hermeneuticians such as :ilhelm 2ilthey
pioneered the distinction between natural and social science -E Harious neo$Kantian
philosophers phenomenologists and human scientists further theorized how the
analysis of the social world differs to that of the natural world due to the
irreducibly comple! aspects of human society culture and being.
#t the turn of the ,4th century the first generation of German sociologists formally
introduced methodological antipositivism proposing that research should
concentrate on human cultural norms values symbols and social processes
viewed from a resolutely sub=ective perspective. Ma! :eber argued that sociology
may be loosely described as a science as it is able to identify causal relationships of
human Fsocial actionFPespecially among Fideal typesF or hypothetical
simplifications of comple! social phenomena. #s a nonpositivist however :eber
sought relationships that are not as Fahistorical invariant or generalizableF as
those pursued by natural scientists. "ellow German sociologist "erdinand 'Unnies
theorized on two crucial abstract concepts with his work on FGemeinschaft and
GesellschaftF -lit. community and society.. 'Unnies marked a sharp line between
the realm of concepts and the reality of social action@ the first must be treated
a!iomatically and in a deductive way -Fpure sociologyF. whereas the second
empirically and inductively -Fapplied sociologyF..
Sociology is the science whose ob=ect is to interpret the meaning of social
action and thereby give a causal e!planation of the way in which the action
proceeds and the effects which it produces. &y EactionE in this definition is
meant the human behaviour when and to the e!tent that the agent or agents
see it as sub=ectively meaningful ... the meaning to which we refer may be
either -a. the meaning actually intended either by an individual agent on a
particular historical occasion or by a number of agents on an appro!imate
average in a given set of cases or -b. the meaning attributed to the agent or
agents as types in a pure type constructed in the abstract. In neither case is
the EmeaningE to be thought of as somehow ob=ectively EcorrectE or EtrueE by
some metaphysical criterion. 'his is the difference between the empirical
sciences of action such as sociology and history and any kind of priori
discipline such as =urisprudence logic ethics or aesthetics whose aim is to
e!tract from their sub=ect$matter EcorrectE or EvalidE meaning.
'+)4%i),li!2
# broad paradigm in both sociology and anthropology functionalism addresses the
social structure as a whole and in terms of the necessary function of its constituent
elements. # common analogy -popularized by Herbert Spencer. is to regard norms
and institutions as EorgansE that work toward the proper$functioning of the entire
EbodyE of society.'he perspective was implicit in the original sociological
positivism of Comte but was theorized in full by 2urkheim again with respect to
observable structural laws. "unctionalism also has an anthropological basis in the
work of theorists such as Marcel Mauss &ronisVaw Malinowski and (adcliffe$
&rown. It is in (adcliffe$&rownEs specific usage that the prefi! EstructuralE emerged.
Classical functionalist theory is generally united by its tendency towards biological
analogy and notions of social evolutionism. #s Giddens states@ F"unctionalist
thought from Comte onwards has looked particularly towards biology as the
science providing the closest and most compatible model for social science.
&iology has been taken to provide a guide to conceptualizing the structure and the
function of social systems and to analysing processes of evolution via mechanisms
of adaptation ... functionalism strongly emphasises the pre$eminence of the social
world over its individual parts -i.e. its constituent actors human sub=ects..F
"unctionalism shares a history and theoretical affinity with the empirical method.
Catter functionalists such as <iklas Cuhmann and 'alcott >arsons however can be
viewed as at least partially antipositivist. :hilst one might regard functionalism
merely as a logical e!tension of those organic analogies for society presented by
9nlightenment philosophers such as (ousseau sociology draws firmer attention to
the institutions uni?ue to industrialised capitalist society -or FmodernityF.. >arsons
in fact came to regard Fstructural functionalismF as descriptive of a particular
stage in the methodological development of the social sciences rather than a
specific school of thought. "unctionalism shares an affinity with Egrand theoryE
-e.g. systems theory. but emphasis may be placed on small units of socialization
such as the nuclear family. In the most basic terms functionalism concerns Fthe
effort to impute as rigorously as possible to each feature custom or practice its
effect on the functioning of a supposedly stable cohesive system.F
C)$li4% %h-&#
"unctionalism aims only toward a general perspective from which to conduct
social science. Methodologically its principles generally contrast those approaches
that emphasise the FmicroF such as interpretivism or symbolic interactionism. Its
emphasis on Fcohesive systemsF however also holds political ramifications.
"unctionalist theories are often therefore contrasted with Fconflict theoriesF which
criti?ue the overarching socio$political system or emphasize the ine?uality of
particular groups. 'he works of 2urkheim and Mar! epitomize the political as
well as theoretical disparities between functionalist and conflict thought
respectively@
'o aim for a civilization beyond that made possible by the ne!us of the
surrounding environment will result in unloosing sickness into the very
society we live in. Collective activity cannot be encouraged beyond the point
set by the condition of the social organism without undermining health.
4)4l+!i)
His analysis on theory of capital accumulation value and its relationship to
labor dynamics of demand supply prices M profitsD his treatment of the
sub=ects of money and role of governmentD his remarkable theory of ta!ation
and other economics sub=ectsD his all this unprecedented contribution to the
overall field of economics make
5C&i%i!26D&,(.,4/6Li2i%,%i)
'he criticism generally made of the EIbar is that it did not fulfil the promises made
in the Mu?addima. 'his is obvious but it could not have been otherwise. <o one
man could write alone a universal history according to the demands of the
Mu?addima. &ut it has more serious shortcomings@ Ibn khaldun at times
demonstrates a surprising lack of learning for e!ample concerning the #lmohads
and their doctrine@ EIn addition precise dates are rarely givenD the chronological
details throughout the work are too often contradictory and one is obliged to prefer
on many occasions those provided in other more humble and much more succinct
worksE -(. &runschvig Hafsides ii +1,.. <evertheless the Kitab al$EIbar through
its intelligent arrangement of facts and the detail and scope of the account remains
in the opinion of the specialist who has made most use of it an incomparable tool
particularly Efor the two centuries nearest to our author the )+th and the)3thE -(.
&runschvig op. cit. ii +1+.. It should also be added that this work often
disappointing on the history of the 9ast is generally valuable especially for the
Muslim :est and in particular for the &erbers.
Di$$-&-)% 7&i%-&!6Phil"h-&6 C&i%i!- O) I.)- K+l-D+)
:hat interests us here is that Colossio apart from his valid distinction between
Machiavelli and Ibn Khaldun shows an interest in the economic teachings in Ibn
KhaldunEs work. 'his has also been discussed by other researchers who have
compared Ibn Khaldun to K.Mar! based on economic theories about F'he real
meaning and e!planation of sustenance and profit or profit is the value realized
from human labourF.Sec.) ch.H of the Mu?addimah.
(ene Maunier praises the scientific spirit of Ibn Khaldun and says that a place
must be accorded to him in the positive school of sociology. FMaunier stresses the
e!planation given by Ibn Khaldun of the origin of society by combined action of
three different causes@ the imperious necessity of social life the character of
sociability rendering it possible and the conscious will of man to realize it as well
as the conditions of its development@ the physical milieu climate locality soil
race and nourishment.
'aha Hussain in spite of his critical attitude towards Ibn Khaldun recognises
-)17). that Ibn Khaldun long before Montes?uieu had discovered the law of
causality.
(afael #ltamira says that@FIt is sufficient that in the fourteenth century when the
9uropean historiography was still so deficient and so alien to conceptions of the
character Ibn Khaldun e!pounds and defends there should have been written a
book like the >rolegomena in which all the problems are treated or suggested
which in a more discursive manner have come to constitute the principal
preoccupation of modern historians.
'his author approaches our conception of the Mu?addimah. However he differs in
how the integrity of this work is constructed as an interrelated dialectical edifice of
thought and not that merely some parts of it are sociological economical or
historical.
#nother author who has tried to embrace the integrity of Ibn KhaldunEs work is
%abiri -)1*).. He unfortunately seems to have been more occupied with Ibn
KhaldunEs theories of the state and the Casabiyyah which he felt would e!plain the
integrity of the Mu?addimah rather than trying to reconstruct what Ibn Khaldun
himself claims to include in his >rolegomenon -Mu?addimah..
Cl,!i$i4,%i) $ &+&,l ,)0 +&.,) !4i%i-!
Gemeinschaft -community. and Gesellschaft -society.
# ma=or contribution to the discussion of community was made in the )1,4Es
by "erdinand 'onnies who used the German words Gemeinschaft
-community. and Gesellschaft -society. with special meanings which have
entered the language of social science.
Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft are sociological categories introduced by the
German sociologist "erdinand 'Unnies for two normal types of human association.
-# normal type as coined by 'Unnies is a purely conceptual tool to be built up
logically wheras an ideal type as coined by Ma! :eber is a concept formed by
accentuating main elements of a historic6social change.. 'UnniesE concepts of both
Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft conceptionally strictly to be separated from each
other are fully discussed in his work Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft -)77* seven
more German editions.. Bnly the ,nd edition of )1), turned out to be a success
and the =u!taposition of these two terms belonged to the general stock of concepts
German pre$)1++ intellectuals were ?uite familiar with and ?uite often
misunderstood.
8-!-ll!4h,$%
Gesellschaft -often translated as society or civil society. in contrast describes
associations in which for the individual the larger association never takes on more
importance than individual self interest and lack the same level of shared mores.
Gesellschaft is maintained through individuals acting in their own self interest. #
modern business is a good e!ample of Gesellschaft the workers managers and
owners may have very little in terms of shared orientations or beliefs they may not
care deeply for the product they are making but it is in all their self interest to
come to work to make money and thus the business continues.
8nlike Gemeinschafts Gesellschafts emphasize secondary relationships rather
than familial or community ties and there is generally less individual loyalty to
society. Social cohesion in Gesellschafts typically derives from a more elaborate
division of labor. Such societies are considered more susceptible to class conflict as
well as racial and ethnic conflicts.
8-2-i)!4h,$%
Gemeinschaft -often translated as community. is an association in which
individuals are oriented to the large association as much if not more than to their
own self interest. "urthermore individuals in Gemeinschaft are regulated by
common mores or beliefs about the appropriate behaviour and responsibility of
members of the association to each other and to the association at largeD
associations marked by Funity of willF -'Unnies ,,.. 'Unnies saw the family as the
most perfect e!pression of GemeinschaftD however he e!pected that Gemeinschaft
could be based on shared place and shared belief as well as kinship and he
included globally dispersed religious communities as possible e!amples of
Gemeinschaft.
S4il*# $ R+&,l ,)0 U&.,) S4i-%i-!
He pioneered the idea of the two types of society@ -). primitive society and -,.
civilized society. He believed that society moves from simple to the comple! in all
its phases including the livelihood crafts customs and sciences. In primitive
society the members feel that they belong together and are a unit.
He referred to two types of controlD namely the control in the dessert by tribal
leaders and traditions and the control by the ruler and court in the city. "or Ibn
Khaldun R#sabiyaS which is the group solidarity backing any successful social
movement originates and can survive only in a tribal society. 'he society of pre$
Islamic #rabia was based upon blood kinship.
He said that the establishment of the state occurred prior to the city because the
former leads to the latter and is meant to it. Moreover the establishment of cities
re?uires aids whish only states can secure. 'he e!istence of the state is a
fundamental pre$re?uisite for the establishment of the city and when the city is
finally built according to the design by its founder it will have the same span of life
as the state.
Ibn Khaldun believes two factors are considered for tribal leadership@ -). moral
characteristics and
-,. nobility of family. 'he leadership of the tribe is usually in the hands of one
family but its political.
9i-(! ) !4i,l l,(
#S#&IW#H is the central concept in the Mu?addimah of Ibn Khaldun as a
determining force of the development of human society. It is derived from the root
Iasab/ -to bind. and RasabahS -union.. Bther related words are Iasabbatun/ or
Iusbatun/ or Iisabtun/. 'hus #S#&IW#H is formed from the concrete form of
asaba and connotes R the nature of the groupS or R groupdomS.
Ibn Khaldun also maintained the same distinction@ #S#&IW#H directed toward
futility and vanity as worthless and employed for the truth and the fulfillment of
the divine commands as re?uisite. 0uranic statement that Rneither your blood
relatives nor your children will be of use to you on the I2ay of (esurrectionS is the
condemnation of group feeling directed for worthless purposes. Bther side the
group feeling directed for fulfillment of divine commandment is re?uisite because
they materialize religious laws through group feeling.
ccording to Ibn Khaldun a nomadic group unified through blood kinship
constitutes primary form of #S#&IW#H. :hen two such #S#&IW#H come in
conflict with each other and stronger one sub=ugate other a new total #S#&IW#H
is formulated. 'he purpose of #S#&IW#H is mastery. Its survival consists on the
continuation of the strength of the dynasty. Its replacement with another stronger
#S#&IW#H or ad=ustment with it goes according to the strength of its dynasty. It
is principle characteristic of inter$tribal relationship more especially of the
&edouins whose life is conditioned with the attainment of the power for the
con?uest of the fertile regions of the sedentary population. &ut when they become
accustomed of comfortable life in the fertile regions they also began to loose their
bravery and strong #S#&IW#H. Some time a man changed his tribe due to some
reason he adopts the genealogy of the other tribe. It is called rational #S#&IW#H
which is less spontaneous than natural form of #S#&IW#H.
He further elaborates that the urban societies doesn/t have such bondage because
they are mi!ed population of various dynasties and achieve prestige on other
criteria rather than on blood$kinship basis. 'heir mutual relations are not the
product of #S#&IW#H directed against each other and the formation of group and
party doesn/t make any parallel #S#&IW#H creating any threat to ruling dynasty.
'herefore their #S#&IW#H disappear and they restrict themselves considering
being the member of the noblest houses.
'o comprehend the term globally it is appropriate to approach to the psychological
as well as philosophical dimensions of #S#&IW#H and to integrate it with relative
notions.
"irst dimension of #S#&IW#H is that it is always concerned with group cohesion.
Group feeling will disappear if the group cohesion ceases. <o #S#&IW#H can
remain without the e!isting group cohesion. #ccording to Ibn Khaldun in
beginning a house possesses an original nobility through group feeling XasabiyahY
but they loose that nobility when their group feeling XasabiyahY disappear in the
conse?uent of sedentary life and they began to share a delusion of being associated
with a the most noble houses. It is ?uite clear from the Israelitites who were
honored of having the greatest number of the prophets and holding royal authority
for a long time but when they suffered humiliation e!iles and indigence and lost
all group feelings they inclined to utter their association with ancestors. 'o
enumerate older relation is useful only when they are blood ties because it will
result to mutual help and affection. Bther wise it is no more useful.
Bn the other hand a group does not have #S#&IW#H in all cases. #ccording to
Ibn Khaldun weakness and unresisting power causes the meekness docility in a
group and destroy the vigor and strength of group feeling -#S#&IW#H. for
e!ample the Israelities refused to follow the order of Moses who urged them to go
and become the rulers of the Syria. 'he chief reason of their attitudes was that
under the enslavement of the 9gyptian through the long period they had become
too weak to offer opposition and to press claims. He further elaborated that group
feelings are not formed mechanically through the group cohesion but it comes
through enterprise and courage.

R'he e!istence and human life can materialize without the e!istence of prophesy
through in=unctions a person in authority may devise on his own or with the help of
a group feeling X#S#&IW#HY that enables him to force the others to follow him
wherever he wants to go. >eople who have a divinely revealed book and who
follow the prophets a few in numbers in comparison with all the Magians who
have no divinely revealed book. 'he latter constitutes the ma=ority of the world/s
inhabitants. Still they too have possessed dynasties and monuments not to mention
life itself. 'hey still possess these things at this time in the intemperate zones to the
north and south. 'his is in contrast with human life in the state of anarchy with no
one to e!ercise a restraining influence. 'hat would be impossible.S
R(eligious propaganda can not materialize without the group feeling
X#S#&IW#HY. 'his is because every mass political understanding by necessity
re?uires group feeling.S
RGroup feeling is necessary to the Muslim community. Its e!istence enables the
community to fulfill what God e!pects of it. It is said in the sound tradition of the
Sahih@ God sent no prophet who did not en=oy the protection of his peopleS
He also regards the inducement of #S#&IW#H in the believed Ireligious/
establishment by Mahdi and called it of worldly nature rather religious one. He
believed that Mahdi would be one of them -#lides. and he would unite them
awaken their group feeling and finally they would succeed because of their
strength. :hile other side a "atimid who would propagate for the cause of Mahdi
without the support of group feeling and power and depending only on their
association with the family of Muhamamd will not be successful.
e believed that religion is dependent on #S#&IW#HD if it were gone religious laws
would no longer be because they materialize only through group feeling
X#S#&IW#H.Y. Infact #S#&IW#H was the principle characteristic of tribal social
order which Islam transformed in to group spirit for the glory of God. &ut it is
clear from his description that for him religion was not the fundamental fact of life
but rather secondary factor. "or him #S#&IW#H is the spiritual reflection of an
ob=ectively e!isting social situation and it depend on group cohesion. #ll
contemprory socio ploitical issues of the #rab$Islamic world need to be viewed
from this perspective.