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

Hoseiny, Seyyed Aqil; Nassaj, Hamid; Raanaei, Alireza

doi:10.48308/jep.2024.235318.1174

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

10.48308/jep.2024.235318.1174

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.

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