Ibn Khaldun's Understanding of Society, State and History

Abstract

Ibn Khaldun, who lived in the Middle Ages and is one of the most important names of the age and geography in which he lived, constitutes a rare name who thinks on the social and political field in the Islamic world. Ibn Khaldun has a unique place in the history of thought with his original thoughts on society, state, history, economy and city. It is also important in terms of being the first user of many social concepts by developing its own unique perspective. Among these concepts, we call civilization today, Ibn Khaldun, on the other hand, examined the transitions that took place in social life by focusing on social life with the concept corresponding to "umran". The existence of umran in a place is possible for a number of reasons, such as the establishment of cities and towns in that place and the carrying out of social, economic, political and scientific activities. When these reasons disappear, the umran is doomed to disappear and the city/town to become devastated or ruined. In addition to the fact that the concept of society occupies an important place in Ibn Khaldun, the subject of the ‘science of umran', which he uses as completely unique to himself, is to live in state of society that he sees as necessary for humans. Ibn Khaldun, the first thinker to make society the subject of a new and independent science, saw society as a natural phenomenon subject to laws. He has tried to explain the change occurring in society on the basis of social realities. In this context, he examined social life in two categories for the first time: Bedouin and Hadarî. The Bedouin society is a society that deals with farming and animal husbandry, consumes foodstuffs with little change in their natural state, and has access only to essential subsistence items. The Hadarî society, on the other hand, is urban and town dwellers who have reached a certain level of prosperity, have access to luxury necessities, and live a settled life. Ibn Khaldun thinks that luxury, waste and ostentatious spending, which started in the rich classes in the societies with increasing prosperity, spread to the whole society through this class and led to the destruction of the society economically, politically and socially. According to Ibn Khaldun, humans, who form the basis of society, have some unique characteristics that distinguish them from other living creatures. These; ability to do science and art, the needs an influential manager, the effort to make a living and the umran. Ibn Khaldun who developed by his thoughts on the historical, economic, cultural and political phenomena in which he was involved, discussed historical events with a critical approach and within the framework of causality and stated that history also has a law. By giving the events in a certain regularity, he drew attention to the fact that there is also a law of history. Ibn Khaldun, who considers the state as a mandatory element for human nature, by developing an organismic understanding of the state, he drew attention to the fact that states have a life span just like people. The lifespan of the state and dynasty does not exceed three generations, and the lifespan of each generation is 40 years on average. Bedouin characteristics are preserved in the first generation. During this period, asabiyyah is strong and the people submit to the state. In the second generation, the state develops from scarcity to abundance, but asabiyyah begins to fade. In the third generation, Bedouinism is forgotten over time and asabiyyah disappears completely. By the fourth generation, they disappear. Ibn Khaldun examines the political system under two headings. These are politics based on reason and religion. Politics based on reason is politics outside the caliphate and based on power. This system is established with rules created later. Politics based on religion is the administration of the people according to religious provisions. A caliphate in which religious provisions are valid is deemed necessary for the good in both worlds. Again, he examined the origins of the state through asabiyyah, which is also a concept unique to Ibn Khaldun, and developed his political theory thereupon. Asabiyya expresses the feeling that will mobilize all members of the society with the spirit of unity and solidarity against the enemies. Asabiyyah is a form of behavior, and this form of behavior corresponds to collectivity. Thanks to Asabiyyah, a tribal branch or family unites other branches of the same tribe around itself and thus increases its power. However, as passes from the Bedouin society to the Hadarî society, asabiyyah decreases.