An Islamic Approach to Studying History: Reflections on Ibn Khaldūn’s Deterministic Historical Approach

Abstract

Abstract: This paper argues that patterns exist in history, and that these can —and should — be discerned. By doing this, Muslim intellectuals will only be resuming an intellectual and spiritual journey begun over 600 years ago, by Ibn Khaldūn, who invented sociology and the scientific study of history, basing himself on the methodology of the Qur´ān. This paper examines Khaldūn’s deterministic historical approach, comparing it to the secular attempt to understand history in Karl Marx’s “historical materialism.” Khaldūn’s classification of societies (as being either based on human fiṭrah or tending towards an animal-like existence) is examined and applied to current conditions. It is argued that Muslims need to learn how to use Khaldūn’s deterministic approach, critically applying it to today’s changed conditions, to contribute to the conscious creation of a new, Allah-centred global civilisation.