Ibn Khaldūn

This prolegomenon was written in the 14th century by the Arab scholar Ibn Khaldūn, & laid the intellectual foundations for philosophy of history, sociology, ethnography & economics. This translation was first published in 1958 in three volumes.

an introduction to history

The Muqaddimah

An Introduction to History

Can the seeker after Truth wholly depend on the guidance found in books on Sufism or are the oral teachings of a spiritual master necessary? This was a heated debate in fourteenth-century Andalusia that extended beyond the confines of Sufi circles. Ibn Khaldun ventured into this debate with a treatise that is as relevant today as it was then. Ibn Khaldun on Sufism: Remedy for the Questioner in Search of Answers is the first ever translation into English of Shifa' al-Sa'il li-Tahdhib al-Masa'il. Though Ibn Khaldun is renowned for the Muqaddima and the 'Ibar--which are considered milestones in the fields of medieval sociology and the philosophy of history--little is known about his religious and spiritual life. In her introduction to Ibn Khaldun on Sufism, Dr Yumna Ozer seeks to restore Ibn Khaldun and his work to the context from which his theories arose, both in intellectual and religious terms; she also draws a vivid painting of Sufism in the fourteenth century and rethinks Ibn Khaldun's relationship with Sufism. The translation itself addresses the dichotomies or synergies between religious law and the Sufi path, the roles played by jurists, and that played by Sufis, and the particular position of the Sufi shaykh or spiritual master.

Remedy for the Questioner in Search of Answers

Ibn Khaldun on Sufism

Süleyman Uludağ

Mukaddime

Excerpt from A Selection From the Prolegomena of Ibn Khaldūn: With Notes and an English-German Glossary The references in the Glossary will be plain [dozy' means the Supplement; tlane' the Lexicon; twright' the third edition of the Grammar; cbrockelmann' the larger Geschichte. Those to the present editor's Development of Muslim Theology, etc. Will be pardoned; that book was written for precisely such use. No grammatical treatment of the Arabic of Ibn Kbaldfin's time yet exists; Dozy must be the sheet-anchor of the student. In the present text, for the sake of his practice, the vocalization has been kept light; to spare his time, the glossary has been made full. If he absolutely masters this glossary, the reading of the rest ofthe Prolegomena will be comparatively easy. And few Arabic books will so repay reading throughout. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

With Notes and an English-German Glossary (Classic Reprint)

A Selection from the Prolegomena of Ibn Khaldūn

The Prolegomena of Ibn Khaldun are in many ways the most remarkable manifestation of Islamic philosophical thought. Not only did Ibn Khaldun sum up the accumulated knowledge and leading doctrines of his civilisation, but in many fields he broke new ground and anticipated the findings of Western social scientists of the last two centuries. The passages have been grouped to illustrate Ibn Khaldun's views on: Historical Method; Geography; Economics; Public Finance; Population; Society and State; Religion and Politics; Knowledge and Society; The Theory of Being; The Theory of Knowledge. This translation is intended for students of thought, rather than specialised Arabic scholars, and for those interested in the intellectual background of the Arab world. First published in 1950 and reprinted several times, this revision contains a new chapter and a thoroughly revised and updated bibliography.

Selections from the Prolegomena of Ibn Khaldun of Tunis (1332-1406)

An Arab Philosophy of History

Sufism through the eyes of a legal scholar In The Requirements of the Sufi Path, the renowned North African historian and jurist Ibn Khaldūn applies his analytical powers to Sufism, which he deems a bona fide form of Islamic piety. Ibn Khaldūn is widely known for his groundbreaking work as a sociologist and historian, in particular for the Muqaddimah, the introduction to his massive universal history. In The Requirements of the Sufi Path, he writes from the perspective of an Islamic jurist and legal scholar. He characterizes Sufism and the stages along the Sufi path and takes up the the question of the need for a guide along that path. In doing so, he relies on the works of influential Sufi scholars, including al-Qushayrī, al-Ghazālī, and Ibn al-Khaṭīb. Even as Ibn Khaldūn warns of the extremes to which some Sufis go—including practicing magic—his work is essentially a legal opinion, a fatwa, asserting the inherent validity of the Sufi path. The Requirements of the Sufi Path incorporates the wisdom of three of Sufism’s greatest voices as well as Ibn Khaldūn’s own insights, acquired through his intellectual encounters with Sufism and his broad legal expertise. All this he brings to bear on the debate over Sufi practices in a remarkable work of synthesis and analysis. A bilingual Arabic-English edition.

Ibn Khaldūn

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