Ibn Khaldun’s Ilm ul Umrān and History of Judaism

Abstract

Main focus of the paper is the socio-historical studies of Judaism by Ibn Khaldun. Ibn Khaldun’s scholarship and his contribution to the various domains of social sciences like history, sociology and politics has been acknowledged globally. While his both works al Ibar and Muqadimmah have remained the focus of many researches dealing with his social scientific theories and historical studies but Ibn Khaldun’s approach to the study of other religions has been touched by only few scholars. It is the purpose of this study to examine and analyze Ibn Khaldun’s Ilm ul- Umran (science of society) and its correlation with the history of Judaism. In an attempt to highlight and discuss his approach to the study of Judaism the research will firstly discuss his contribution to the study of Judaism in Muqaddimah and then in al Ibar decisively showing his two distinct methods for dealing with the Jewish history and religion. For him, Jews are the best example to explain his Umran science and his socio-historical theories that he has discussed at length in his Muqaddimah. Thus, he takes Jewish history as a prototype for explaining the theoretical framework of his science al Umran. According to him Jewish history is the best example for study of human history and society as they have experienced many rises and falls throughout their history. Likewise, their history is replete with examples of various models of social life; they experienced the dessert and sedentary life, they lost their social and political status many times and regained it by their group solidarity. This study is based on qualitative research design and applies the content analysis to trace and collect the data related to the theoretical and historical study of Judaism scattered in his al Ibar and Muqaddimah and textual analysis to describe, interpret and analyze these themes to frame together a comprehensive approach of Ibn Khadun to study of Judaism. Keywords: Ibn Khaldun, Ilm ul Umran, Jewish History, Social Science