Refining Islamic Scholarship: Through Harmonising With Postmodern Social Sciences
In 1377 classical North African Islamic Scholar, Ibn Khaldun, wrote The Muqaddimah [Translated as: Introduction to Universal History].This text by many is regarded as being significant in influencing thought, within the social sciences. Ibn Khaldun argues that people fall into two general categor...
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| Format: | Book chapter |
| Language: | en_US |
| Published: |
Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia
2012
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| Online Access: | http://ddms.usim.edu.my/handle/123456789/5427 |
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| Summary: | In 1377 classical North African Islamic Scholar, Ibn Khaldun, wrote The
Muqaddimah [Translated as: Introduction to Universal History].This text by
many is regarded as being significant in influencing thought, within the social
sciences. Ibn Khaldun argues that people fall into two general categories:
city dwellers, who enjoy an urban sedentary lifestyle; and those who live
in harsh nomadic conditions. When looking specifically at Muslims, with
Arabic being the language of Islam, Ibn Khaldun also groups Muslims into
two broad camps: which differentiates individuals according to (1) linguistic
and (2) cultural Arabization. Ibn Khaldun asserts that intellect, scholarship,
science and refined culture (such as the arts), evolved through urban linguistic
Arabs - the most prominent of whom, at his time, hailed from Ancient Persia2
and Egypt. The classical period of Islam has a signif cant influence on Persia,
which she reciprocated greatly. Ibn Khaldun writes, that after the Muslim
conquest of Persia in 633AD, Arabs to a large extent became Persianized.
Dutton (2002), comments on the early shifts in political authority, from
Madina to Kufa, then to Damascus and later to the Islamic Golden Age in
Baghdad. The move to Baghdad harmonised Persian influences, making
the Muslim world the unrivaled centre of education, science, medicine
and philosophy. At this time, the prophetic saying arguing that the ink of
the scholar is more holy that the blood of the martyr, embodied the Muslim
mind-set. Dutton (2002) also asserts that after the death of Muhammad,
cultural practices became central in understanding how to derive, interpret
and apply Islamic law. Ibn Khaldun (2005) and Dutton (2002) paint a picture
of Muslim acculturation built around urban centres of knowledge, as opposed
to the Bedouin desert plains, as is often romanticised. |
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