Critical Review on Ibn Khaldun’s Political Thought and Relevance: The Perspective of Abdallah Sharit

Abstract

The thought of Ibn Khaldun’s thought continues to generate highly intellectual debate in the Arab and Western world. His thought on the state and the foundations of government, as well as the factors inherent within their rise and collapse are highly reflective of some of the contemporary and future tracks of Arab society. Ibn Khaldun was greatly intrigued and interested in internal factors as being the most decisive reasons of decline, while nonetheless acknowledging the impact of foreign invasions and externalities on the decline of states. He holds however that foreign invasion is only effective to the degree of disintegration reached by society, or alternatively where it is difficult for the sense of ‘Asabiyyah to unite existing social and political powers, or consequently fails to awaken those forces in the face of external aggression. The critical evaluation of the contemporary socio-politico-cultural context of Arab societies in accordance with Abdallah Sharīṭ’s probes show little change since Ibn Khaldun’s times, and are no different from what is found in his own diagnosis within the Muqaddimah. Arab societies are still based on Asabiyyah, and the struggle for political authority continues to be their governing pattern. Though they made inroads towards nationalism; their failure sharply revived the aforementioned Asabiyyah. explains and highlights the relevance and credibility of concepts raised earlier by Ibn Khaldun. Sharīṭ is of firm belief that the insight offered by Ibn Khaldun can meet the dire needs of present-day Arab states.  Within this context, Sharīṭ finds that the ideas of Ibn Khaldun have become critically relevant to the existing conflict.This inquiry seeks to explore the manifestations of and implications of Ibn Khaldun’s relevance to the present-day according to Sharīṭ, especially regarding the pertinence of his political thought. This study also assesses the relevance of Ibn Khaldun’s political thought in light of contemporary socio-political changes taking place in Arab countries. This study intends to derive relevant lessons pertinent to our times; precisely on what Sharīṭ attempted to do in his study of Ibn Khaldun, specifically seeking to emphasize Ibn Khaldun’s relevance to the interpretation and understanding of contemporary Arab conditions.