The influence of lbn Khaldun 's political thought on Ibn al-Azraq: a comparative exposition of the Muqaddimah and Bada'i' al-Silk fi Taba'i' al-Muluk

Abstract

The impact which Ibn Khaldun brought upon the successive generations of scholars from 15th century till the present day 21st century shows, his ingenuity in finding an answer to the causation of human development has been able to withstand the test of time. It has been claimed that his thought was first discovered by the Western academia hence, his fame transcends the cultural and religious boundaries which otherwise would have been identified only with the Muslim world. However, with the emergence of the study of Ibn al-Azraq since 1967 in the Arabic academia has brought light upon an Andalusian Muslim scholar of the 15th century, disproves this thesis. With the publication of an article entitled "Ibn al-Azraq Shariḥ Ibn Khaldun" by Hassan al-Sa'iḥ,' other writings on Ibn al-Azraq have started to come out. 4 6 3 The study of Ibn al-Azraq further expanded when 'Abdul Hādī al-Tāzī published an article entitled "Ma'a Ibn al-Azraq fi Makhṭūṭātih: Badā'i' al-Sulūk fi Ţabā'i' al- Mulūk wa Ḥadīthih 'an al-Safarah wa al-Sufara"" in 1975. And the study on Ibn al- Azraq further receives its impetus when two scholars Muḥammad 'Abdul Karim³ and 'Ali Sami al-Nashshar edited and published his political treaty Bada'i' al-Silk fi Taba'i' al-Mulk or The Nature of Governance, separately in 1977. In an article "Ibn al-Azraq: bayna Bada'i' al-Silk fi Taba'i' al-Mulk wa Rawdah al-'I'lām" written by Muhammad Murad he affirmed that Ibn al-Azraq can be considered as the first scholar to have studied Ibn Khaldun's thought. Hence, it can be deduced that Ibn al-Azraq was the first, thus far, to have discovered the significance of Ibn Khaldun's thought and foresaw the impact of the theory of 'asabiyyah.