Introduction of Ibn Khaldun - Al Risalah Foundation

It is without doubt that history was established as a science with its methodology and methods among Muslims by the scholar Ibn Khaldun. Ibn Khaldun did not follow the approach of those before him from Islamic historians who rely on narrating facts and historical events without analysis, scrutiny, or verification. Instead, Ibn Khaldun was a critic of events, seeking analysis, working for thought, opening the door to criticism wide open. All of this was clearly evident in his famous introduction in which he presented his book "Al-'Ibar and the Diwan of Beginning and News, in the Days of Arabs, Persians, Berbers, and those who accompanied them from the mighty rulers." Ibn Khaldun says in his introduction: “History... on the surface... is information about days and states, and the precedents from the early centuries... but in its essence, it is observation, investigation, and explanation of beings and their principles, precise, and knowledge of the ways of events and their causes, deep. Therefore, it is original in the sciences of wisdom, rooted, and worthy to be counted among its sciences and deserving.” Thus, credit is given to Ibn Khaldun’s introduction for making history a science, and for founding the science of philosophy of history, which Europeans attribute to their scholars. Ibn Khaldun is also considered a pioneer of sociology and its founder. This is confirmed by the orientalist Émile Maspéro, who embraced Islam after long study and love, and translated "Ibn Khaldun’s Introduction," saying the following about it: “Ibn Khaldun preceded European philosophers of history, especially the famous Christian scholar Boussuye, by three centuries in understanding history and interpreting its significance and implications. But Ibn Khaldun also preceded Auguste Comte by five centuries in establishing the science of sociology. Ibn Khaldun applied, for the first time, a new methodology to study human society and civilization, and that alone is a source of pride.” Ibn Khaldun’s book is considered a jewel among the treasures of Islamic heritage, and it is also an important reference for researchers in history and sociology.