Ibn-khaldūn’s Political Economy: A Reflection on the Theological, Epistemological, and Methodological Foundations of Ilm-al-Umrān

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor of Economics, Yasouj University, Yasouj, Iran.

2 Associate Professor, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

3 Ph.D. Candidate, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

Abstract

Based on Al-Fārābī's classification of knowledge, Islamic intellectuals traditionally approached the social sciences through two branches: practical wisdom and Fiqh. A historical study of Islamic civilization reveals that these branches remained focused on ethical and Sharia (legal) recommendations, without contributing to the development of theoretical knowledge about human sciences. However, Al-Fārābī’s classification also recognized a branch that dealt with nature through an empirical methodology. Ibn Khaldūn challenged the philosophical approach in both theoretical and practical fields, assigning the practical domain to Fiqh and introducing the newly-developed Ilm-al-Umrān (science of culture and political economy) to offer theoretical explanations for social and human phenomena using a natural and empirical method. This marked a significant departure from tradition and laid the foundation for early political economy within the Islamic intellectual framework. Despite the potential for advancing social sciences, Ibn Khaldūn's ideas did not gain further momentum after his time. This paper examines the theological, epistemological, and methodological foundations of Ibn Khaldūn's Ilm-al-Umrān and its relationship with practical wisdom and Fiqh, seeking to answer the question of why his natural methodology failed to shape the development of political economy in Islamic civilization. The paper also explores the divergence between reason and revelation in Islamic and Christian civilizations, highlighting how the separation of reason and revelation in the Christian West, as seen in the work of St. Thomas Aquinas, paved the way for modern sciences, while the inseparability of the two in the Islamic tradition impeded the progress of Ibn Khaldūn’s natural method.

Keywords

References

Abdul-Razzaq al-hahiji (1855). Gohar-i Murad, a treatise with astronomical diagrams, copied by Ibn Hasan katib Isma'il, Qajar Persia.
Al-Fārābī Ketāb al-sīāsa al-madanīya, ed. F. Najjar as Al-Fārābī’s The Political Regime (al-Siyāsa al-Madaniya Also Known as the Treatise on the Principles of Beings), Beirut, 1964.
Al-Fārābī, (1984) Fosul el-montaziah, research by: Fuzi Metri Najjar. Tehran: Maktabata al-Zahra (s).
Al-Fārābī, Abu Nasr Muhammad b. Muhammad (1953). Ihsa’ al-ulum, text published with Spanish translation entitled Catalogo de las Ciencias, Madrid.
Al-Fārābī (1968). Ketāb al-mella, ed. M. Mahdi as Al-Fārābī’s Book of Religion and Related Texts (Ketāb al-mella wa noṣūṣ oḵrā), Beirut.
Al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid Muhammad (1927) Tahafot al-Falasifat. Edited by Maurice Bouyges. Bibliotheca Arabica Scholasticorum, 2. Beirut: Imprimerie Catholique.
Al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid Muhammad (1937). Ihya’ ulum al-din, 16 vols, Cairo.
Al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid Muhammad (1973). Al-Munqidh min al-dalal, Muhammad Mustafa Abu al-Ala (ed. and intro.), Egypt.
Al-Rabe, A. Abdulla (1984). Muslim Philosophers Classification of the Sciences: Al-Kindi, Al-Fārābī, Al-Ghazali, Ibn Khaldun. Harvard University.
Amzyan, Muhammad (1991). Minhaj al-Bahth al-Ijtimaei bin al-Vaz'eia va al-Me'iaria. Virginia: International Institution of Islamic Thought.
Aristotle (1958). The Politics of Aristotle, Edited and translated by E. Barker. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Azadarmaki, Taghi (1992). An Analysis of the Roots of Ibn Khaldun's Social Theory: A Case Study in Sociological Metatheorizing. Ph.D. Dissertation: University of Maryland College Park.
Bakar, Osman (1999). Classification of Knowledge in Islam. The Islamic Texts Society.
Bouthoul, G. (1930). Ibn-Khaldoun: Sa Philosophic Sociale. Paris.
Burtt, E. A. (1932). The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Physical Science. New Yourk: Harcourt Brace.
Choudhury, M. A. and Silvia, B. (2008) ‘A Critique of Ibn Khaldun’s Causality Concept’, Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Islamic Economics, 21(1).
Copleston, Frederick (2003). History of Philosophy: British Philosophy: Hobbes to Hume. Vol 5, Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd.
Corbin, Henry (1993). History of Islamic Philosophy. Liadain Sherrard. New York: Kegan Paul International in association with London: Islamic Publication.
Fakhry, Majid (1983). A History of Islamic Philosophy. New York: Columbia University Press.
Ibn Sina (1954). Uyun al-Hikmah (Fontes Sapientiae), ed. Abdurrahman Badawi (Memorial Avicenne V), Cairo, Institute Franfais d'Archeologie Orientale, 16-46.
Ibn Taimiyah  (1971). Al-Siyasah al-Shariyah fi Islah al Raiwa Rajyah, eds Al-Banna and Ashur, Dar Al-Sha’b, Cairo.
Ibn-Khaldun, Abdel Rahman (1967). The Muqaddimah, 3 vols, trans. F. Rosenthal, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London. (In this paper we use an electronic copy of this book that collect 3 volumes on one volume).
Ilkhani, Muhammad (2008). Ibn-Khaldun and Philosophy. Kheradname, vol. 54.
Lacoste, Y. (1966). Ibn Khaldoun, naissance de l'histoire, passe du tiers monde. Paris: Maspero.
Mahdi, Muhsin (1957). Ibn Khaldun's Philosophy of History: A Study of the Philosophic Foundation of the Science of Culture, London.
Mahdi, Muhsin (1966). Ibn Khaldun. In M. M. Sharif, History of Muslim Philosophy, vol. 2, Wiesbaden.
Mutahhari, Murtada(1981) Jurisprudence and Its Principles, Translated by Salman Tawhidi, Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an, , New York.
Mulla Sadra (1981). Resale-ie Se Asl. Ed. By Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Tehran: Mola Publication.
Nasr, S. H. (1988). Knowledge and the Sacred. Lahore: Suhail Academy.
Nassif Nassar (1967), La pensée réaliste d'Ibn Khaldûn, Paris, PUF.
Sahri'atmadar, S. M. (1999). The Basis of the Formation of Rational Approach in Political Field (in Islamic Civilization). Journal of Political Science. Vol. 6, No. 2.
Seddiqi, B. M. (1966). Nassir al-Din al-Tusi. In M. M. Sharif, History of Muslim Philosophy, vol. 1, Wiesbaden.
Shojaei zand, A (2008). Why Ibn-khaldūn didn't Become Originator of Sociology? Research Journal of Human and Social Science, vol. 1. Spring. (in Persian).
Sorokin, P. A (1951). Social Philosophies of an Age of Crisis. Boston.
Spengler, Joseph J. (1964). Economic Thought of Islam: Ibn Khaldun. Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 6, No. 3 (Apr.), 268-306.
Spragens, Thomas A. Jr. (2009). Understanding Political Theory. I.A. Books; Reprinted Edition.
Toynbee, Arnold Joseph (1934). "The Relativity of Ibn Khaldun's Historical Thought" in A Study of History. London, 10 vols.
 
International Journal of New Political Economy
Volume 5, Issue 2
2024
Pages 289-321

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 10 April 2024
  • Revise Date: 18 October 2024
  • Accept Date: 26 October 2024
  • First Publish Date: 26 October 2024
  • Publish Date: 01 October 2024

Share

How to cite

Statistics