Sociology as Exposed by Ibn Khaldun

Book II, Chapter I in Ibn Khaldun: His Life and Work

1941: P. 157-175

By: Mohammad Abdullah Enan

Ibn Khaldun's comprehension of history. Sociology or the conditions of human community. How he considers it the basis to understand history. His analysis of social phenomena. How he divides sociology. The contents of the Prolegomena. Ibn Khaldun's criticism of historians. His exposition of the subject of his science. His theory of the Asabiyah (Vitality). Ibn Khaldun and the Arabs. His opinions of the stale and sovereignty. His theory on the age of the state. The kinds of sovereignty. The origin of the cities and countries. Livelihood and how to earn it. The different kinds of sciences.

Ibn Khaldn is distinguished from the rest of Muslim historians, indeed from all his predecessors, by the fact that he considered history as a science worthy of study—not as narrative merely recorded. He wished to write history in the light of a new method of explanation and reasoning, and his reflections and studies led him to establish a kind of social philosophy. He wrote the Prolegomena of his historical work as a preliminary explanation in the light of which history should be read and its events understood. It has thus become an independent work of striking originality, recording a new system in understanding and explaining the social phenomena, and also in understanding, criticizing and analysing history.

Ibn Khaldun describes this new study, which he discovered as an independent science, with a special subject—sociology and human community, and special problems, "which are to explain all the phenomena and conditions appertaining to it, one after the other." He also tells us that this science "is new, with strange orientation and immense interest," to which he was led by private research, not dealt with by any previous writer except, perhaps, the ancients whose works perished and are therefore unknown to us; he is thus the first to discover it, and lay down and explain its principles.

This new science, which Ibn Khaldun founded to understand and study history, has great importance. In his opinion it is a science to distinguish truth from falsehood in recording events, and to show the possible and the impossible, "by looking into human society which is sociology, and to distinguish the conditions which appertain to it and are different in its nature from those which are only occasional and others which cannot arise. By doing this we apply a science which distinguishes truth from falsehood in records and in a method supported by proofs which admits of no doubt." It was the attempt to understand history, in this manner, which urged Ibn Khaldun to study this new subject, which is "Al-Umran" or "Al-Ijtima al-Bashari", that is to say, sociology or conditions of human society.

But Ibn Khaldun looks at this subject from a different point of view, and makes of all human society and the phenomena, connected with it, a subject for his reflection, and tries to study and analyse the society, in all its phases, from its beginning and nomadic state till it is settled and organized in countries and states, as well as its fluctuations between weakness and strength, youth and old age, and rise and fall, and inquiries, in the course of his study, about the state and the characteristics of society, the elements it is composed of, its organization from the simple individual and group to monarch and state, and the circumstances and conditions encountered by these elements in their private and public life, the requirements of the safety of society, and the symptoms of its decline and fall. In fact, Ibn Khaldun deals with a vast material which is beyond the scope of his preceding definition.

In another place Ibn Khaldun summarizes the elements of his science from the subjective point of view, viz., the social conditions encountered by men assembled in society, in the sphere of monarchy, livelihood, sciences and trades in a manner which reveals truth and leaves no room for fancy and doubt.¹

He then divides his subject into six large chapters:

1. Human society in general, its kinds and its role in the world.
2. Nomadic society, the tribes and the savage nations.
3. States, the Caliphate, sovereignty and monarchical functions.
4. Civilized society, countries and towns.
5. Trades, manner of living and the ways to earn livelihood.
6. Sciences and how to acquire them.²

This general division gives us an idea of what Ibn Khaldun considers as the subject of the science of human community. This division reveals a great deal of precision and ability, particularly when we review all the matters dealt with in his Prolegomena and see how the subject extends and opens to many ramifications, and how Ibn Khaldun arranges the links of his research in a connected, compact chain which proves the superiority of his thought, his originality and the force of his argument.

In this treatise we do not propose to analyse and criticize the philosophy and social theories of Ibn Khaldun. This is a task too vast for this treatise, but we shall try to narrate, briefly, the contents of his Prolegomena, and to consider some of his social theories.

Ibn Khaldun opens his Prolegomena inquiring into the value of history and its kinds, and the errors into which the historians fall in recording annals and events, whether dictated by purpose and partiality or inadvertently and from ignorance of the laws of sociology and the conditions of society, want of precision and investigation in estimating the possible and the impossible. He then gives several examples which he discusses and tries to point out the errors in them. This discussion, however, is sometimes weak and partial. As for weakness, it is evident, for instance, from the reasons he gives to contradict the story of Al-Abbassa, Al-Rashid's sister, with Ja'far al-Barmaki, and his defence of Al-Rashid's character and afterwards his defence of the character of Al-Mamun.³ As for partiality, it is evident, for instance, from his statcments about the lineage of the Obaydi (Fatimide) Caliphs, the lineage of the Idrisides in Morocco, and his attempt to refute the attacks on their lineage.⁴ We have seen that Ibn Khaldun's life, as a statesman, serving various states and courts, makes him sometimes submit to influences of doctrine and passion. Most of his statements in this chapter are new and interesting, and much of his blame to the previous chroniclers and historians is strong and severe. He then goes on to point out the necessity of ascertaining facts and events in accordance with this law which is formed, in his opinion, by the study of sociology, or the science of human community. as we have seen.

After this long critical pretace ibn Knaidun speaks of the science the subject of which he discovered. He begins, in accordance with the division he nade, to speak of sociology in general, and explains the nature of society, the necessity for it and how it varies according to the climate, how it is affected by changes of weather in hot, cold and temperate zones, the effect of atmosphere on the character, colour and conditions of men and, in the meantime, speaks of the geography of the world as it was known in his age, that is to say, the geography of the seven zones. There is nothing original or new in this chapter. In the sccond chapter Ibn Khaldun deals with different kinds of.nomadic society, and speaks at great length of Bedouin society and its characleristics and compares it with u ban society. Here we find one of the new social theories propounded by the historian. He speaks of what he calls Al-Asabiyah (vitality of state or dynasty), that is to say, the power and influence of the tribe or family, based, as he considers, on family and similar ties. This Asabiyah is the origin of power and authority, or the state in nomadic society. This power belongs to those who enjoy the Asabiyah, and the nobility of lineage which is the origin of Asabiyah and then the power extends, in his opinion, to four generations. It may extend to five or six, but in a state of decline and weakness. Asabiyah, and consequently power, comes to an end with the dissolution of noble lineage and goes to another tribe or family which enjoys the privilege of number and force, and so on. The object of Asabiyah is sovereignty.⁵ Here Ibn Khaldun speaks of the characteristics of sovereignty, the difference of its kinds and extent in accordance with the nations where it rises, the effect of conquest on the conquered nations, who are generally fond of imitating the conqueror.

Ibn Khaldun then speaks of the Arabs. His statements on this subject are interesting notwithstanding their severity and partiality. In his opinion the Arabs are a savage nation whose conquests are made for pillage and devastation, and they succeed only in easy plains and do not dare to cross mountains or plateaus owing to their difficult nature. Whenever they conquer a country it will soon become desolate because their nomadic nature, their disobedience and want of discipline are contrary to organized society; also because they are fond of destruction and pillage. They demolish buildings and rob all sorts of property and injure business and trade and are of all nations the least adapted to the requirements of sovereignty, because in their nomadic nature and rough character they are more fond of independence and liberty and submit to no authority or discipline, while the establishment of sovereignty requires discipline, submission and obedience⁶ Ibn Klaldun goes on to attack the Arabs in other parts of his Prolegomena. He tells us that the buildings raised by the Arabs soon fall into ruins, and that the Arabs are the least disposed to elgage in trade, that they are not fit for learning, and that most of the scholars in the Muslim states were non-Arabs.⁷ Altliough Ibn Khaldun in this campaign presents many proofs and makes right observations, yet his judgment on the Arabs is cxaggerated and many of his opinions lack arguments. There is not much space here to discuss and refute his opinions, yet we must say with iegard to the Arab conquests that it was the Arabs who invaded the yallcys of Syria, the plateaus of Anatolia and Armenia and penetrated beyond Persia; they also invaded North Africa as far as Morocco and Spain, and crossed the Pyrenees into France. All these countries are rugged with no plains easy to invade; they were all conquered by the Arabs in less than a century and in a torrent of brilliant victories. Also the Arabs did not devastate countries; on the contrary, they established flourishing states and societies. To refute the theory of Ibn Khaldun with regard to the characteristics of the Arab conquests, it would be enough to cite the rise of the Omayyad Caliphate in the east and of the Muslim state in Spain. We may understand the reason of this severe condemnation of the Arabs by Ibn Khaldun when we remember that, although claiming to be of Arab origin, he belongs, in fact, to that Berber race whose country the Arabs conquered and on which they imposed their own religion and language, and forced it, after a long struggle and revolution, to be absorbed by the Muslim block and to submit reluctantly to the rule of the Arabs in Africa and Spain until the opportunity came for its rise and liberation. The antagonism between the Arabs and the Berbers in Africa and Spain is well known in the history of Islam, the Berbers having inherited their hatred of the Arabs long before. Ibn Khaldun was born and bred in this Berber society, burning with its feelings, traditions and memories. His family lived in it a hundred years before and enjoyed the patronage and favours of the Berber Almohades. It is not strange, therefore, to see Ibn Khaldun condemning the Arabs in this most severe and cruel manner.

On the other hand we must point out that Ibn Khaldun is inspired here with two motives, scientific and the national. He severely attacks the Arabs to whom he claims to belong and tries to support his views with historical proofs and examples; his argumcnts here reveal a scientific disposition free from the chains of inherited traditions. He seems to be inspired with a strong national feeling; he speaks with the tongue of his Berber fatherland which the Arabs invaded and ruled for generations and imposed on it their religious and political sovereignty and, for ages, fought for its liberty and independence.

In the third chapter Ibn Khaldun speaks of the state and sovereignty. The state, according to him, comes into existence thiough tribal force and Asabiyah, as already said, and it has peculiar characteristics and forms which vary according to those who control it. Religious doctrine too bas its effects on strengthening the state, but such doctrine cannot also be upheld without Asabiyah. Dissension wcakens the state and hastens its downfall. Sovereignty, like the state, has qualities the chief characteristics of which are : monopolizing glory, luxury, comfort and tranquillity— characteristics which, when rooted, bring the state to old age and then to downfall. The state, like men, also has a natural age, and Ibn Khaldun estimates the life of the state from its rise to youth, old age and downfall, generally with thrce generations, a generation being estimated at forty ycars. Thus the life of the state docs not generally exceed one hundred and twenty years, except in rare cases.l This theory agrees with his theory on lineage of which we spoke in dealing with the Asabiyah. Here Ibn Khaldun reaches the summit of creativeness and originality, and his social theories and analyses of society appear at the zenith of their force and brilliance. In our opinion this chapter is the best of all in the Prolegomena, the strongest in exposition and argument, and the most convincing in revealing the abilities of his sound and distinguished spirit.

Ibn Khaldun discusses the subject of the state and sovereignty at great length. He then deals with the conversion of the state from nomadic to civilized condition, its various phases and the effect of the Mawali (slaves) and the protégés on this evolution. He then goes on to speak of sovereignty and its varieties, the Imama and the Caliphate and the various opinions on them, the Sheite doctrines and the conversion of the Caliphate into sovereignty, the formalities of the Caliphate, such as those of accession and choice of a crown-prince, etc., its titles, religious posts, which are the courts. justice and the mint; then of monarchy and its institutions, such as the cabinet posts, government offices, the collection of taxes, correspondence, the police, the command of the fleets, monarchical traditions and manifestations, wars and their methods, dues and the trade systems. He concludes this chapter by speaking of injustice which leads to the dissolution of the state and the destruction of civilization. His statements on this subject are strong and very interesting.

Next to thc subject of the state comes the subject of the countries and cities, the origin of towns, their characteristics and varied conditions, such as fertility and prosperity, or aridity and poveriy, the effects of which extend far beyond the countries to which these cities belong. Then the disposition of the Bedouins as regards the towns, and the dependence of the extent of civilization in the countries, on the conditions of the state, civilization being the ultimate object of society and the end of its life, that it finally leads to corruption, the difference between countries in crops, industries and languages. This is the subject of the fourth chapter of the Prolegomena.

In the fifth chapter Ibn Khaldun speaks of livelihood and the means to earn it, and to amassing of wealth. He then speaks of commerce, supply and demand, monopoly, prices, etc., and of trades, their branches and conditions in a general way, and devotes a special chapter to each of the principal trades, such as agriculture, building, weaving, midwifery, and medicine.

He dedicates the sixth chapter to the sciences and education. Learning, according to him, is one of the characteristics of civilization; it grows and flourishes where civilization is established. He then speaks of the different kinds of religious and social sciences (divine and human) with delightful long chapters on visions, magic, the secrets of letters (cipher), alchemy, spiritism, the occult sciences and clairvoyance, all of which, in his opinion, are the branches of science. He then condemns philosophy and the philosophers because he considers philosophy a useless branch of knowledge and a danger to religion and creed, and discusses and refutes some of the philosophical principles. He then goes on to speak of education and its systems and the characteristics of the scholars, and states that in Islam most of them were non-Arabs. He concludes with a chapter on philology, rhetoric, prose, poetry and its forms then in use.

Notes