Rethinking ibn Khaldun and his intellectual legacy: Myth or reality Qadir Heena Doctoral Student, Discipline of Sociology, School of Social Sciences, IGNOU, New Delhi Online published on 11 April, 2014. Abstract Earlier generations of social thinkers contended that Khaldun was a founder of sociology. Sorokin, Zimmerman, and Galphin believed Khaldun to be an Historian, Statesman, Sociologist, and the “Founder of Sociology.” They noted that Khaldun described the transformation of Arabian society from badawa (rural society) to hadara (urban society), and analyzed this transition. Ibn Khaldun maintained the cyclical perspective of social change and identified an almost rhythmic repetition of rise and fall in human civilization besides analyzing multiple factors contributing to it. Ibn Khaldun's social system was based upon the fact that there are two types of social life viz. the nomadic (badawa or bedounis) and sedentary (hadara or urban dwellers). Khaldun maintains that history is a constantly changing cycle between these two groups of people namely nomads and towns people with peasants in between. He tried to establish that the physical and moral superiority of the nomadic people goes above the city dwellers claiming Bedouins are closer to being good than sedentary people. Bedouins and sedentary people are natural groups which exist by necessity. Bedouins are more disposed to courage than sedentary people. Savage nations are better able to achieve superiority than others due to group feeling or solidarity and attain royal authority. He observed the advancement of history as a cycle of growth and decline and identified the progress as a change from a nomadic to a sedentary or from primitive to civilized society respectively. Top Keywords Civilization, Social Change, Sedentary, Bedouins, Muqaddimah, Kitab-al-Ibar. Top |