Research Article
BibTex RIS Cite

On the Approach of Ibn Khaldun to the History of the People of Israel: The Application of the Concept of Asabiyyah to the Idea of Chosenness

Year 2017, Volume: 19 Issue: 35, 103 - 119, 15.06.2017
https://doi.org/10.17335/sakaifd.298032

Abstract




















Ibn Khaldun, in his
famous Muqaddimah, an “Introduction to History”, explained the stages of
the rise and fall of nations through his comprehensive theory of history and
society, underpinned by the concept of ‘asabiyyah
or “group feeling”. Ibn Khaldun applied his theory to the main topics of the
pre-Islamic religions as well, especially the Jewish religion. This paper aims
to look at Ibn Khaldun’s interpretation of the history of the people of Israel
through his concept of ‘asabiyyah,
and to highlight some possible implications of it as regards the idea of the
election of Israel, emphasis being made on parallels with Baruch Spinoza’s
interpretation of the idea.

References

  • Abdul Karim, Abdul Halim. “Ibn Khaldun and Confucius: A Preliminary Compara-tive Analysis between ‘Asabiyyah and Wu Lun.” al-Shajarah: Journal of the In-ternational Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization 11, no. 1 (2006): 1-26.
  • Bland, Karman. “An Islamic Theory of Jewish History: The Case of Ibn Khaldun.” Journal of Asian and African Studies 18, nos 3-4 (1983): 189-197. Durkheim, Emile. The Division of Labor in Society. Translated by W. D. Halls. London: Macmillan, 1984.
  • Geller, Jay. “Spinoza's Election of the Jews: The Problem of Jewish Persistence”. Jewish Social Studies: History, Culture and Society 12, no. 1 (2005): 39-63.
  • Grabbe, Lester L. Judaic Religion in the Second Temple Period: Belief and Practice from the Exile to Yavneh. London/New York: Routledge, 2000.
  • Ibn Khaldun, al-Muqaddimah. Edited by Abdesselam Cheddadi. al-Dar al-Bayda [Casablanca]: Bayt al-Fununwa’l-Ulumwa’l-Adab, 2005, 3 vols.
  • ________. The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History. Translated by F. Rosenthal. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1958, 3 vols.
  • Kayapınar, Akif. “Ibn Khaldun’s Concept of Assabiyya: An Alternative Tool for Understanding Long-Term Politics?” Asian Journal of Social Science 36, nos 3-4 (2008): 375-407.
  • Koehler, Ludwig and Walter Baumgartner. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. Translated by M. E. J. Richardson. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1996.
  • Mahdi, Muhsin. Ibn Khaldûn’s Philosophy of History: A Study in the Philosophic Founda-tion of the Science of Culture. London and New York: Routledge, 1957.
  • Maimonides, Moses. The Guide of the Perplexed. Translated by S. Pines. Chica-go/London: The University of Chicago Press, 1963, 2 vols.
  • Meyer, Michael A. Jewish Identity in the Modern World. Seattle/London: University of Washington Press, 1990.
  • Mohammad, Fida. “Ibn Khaldun’s Theory of Social Change: A Comparison with Hegel, Marx and Durkheim.” The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 15, no. 2 (1998): 25-45.
  • Nadler, Steven. Spinoza’s Ethics: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
  • Nadler, Steven. “The Jewish Spinoza”. Journal of the History of Ideas 70, no. 3 (2009): 491-510.
  • Neusner, Jacob. Torah Through the Ages: A Short History of Judaism. London: SCM Press, 1990.
  • Niehaus, Jeffrey J. Ancient Near Eastern Themes in Biblical Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2008.
  • Pines, S. “Ibn Khaldun and Maimonides, A Comparison between Two Texts.” Studia Islamica 32 (1970): 265-274.
  • Rosenthal, Michael A. “Why Spinoza Chose the Hebrews: The Exemplary Function of Prophecy in the Theological-Political Treatise.” In Jewish Themes in Spinoza’s Philosophy, ed. Heidi M. RavvenandLenn E. Goodman. New York: State Uni-versity of New York Press, 2002, 225-260.
  • Spinoza, Baruch. Tractatus Theologico-Politicus. Translated by Samuel Shirley. Lei-den/New York: E.J. Brill, 1991.
  • ________. Ethics. Translated by A. Boyle. London: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd., 1938.

İBN HALDUN'UN İSRAİLOĞULLARI TARİHİNE YÖNELİK YAKLAŞIMI: ASABİYYE KAVRAMININ SEÇİLMİŞLİK FİKRİNE UYGULANMASI

Year 2017, Volume: 19 Issue: 35, 103 - 119, 15.06.2017
https://doi.org/10.17335/sakaifd.298032

Abstract

İbn Haldun, meşhur Mukaddime’sinde, toplumların yükseliş ve gerileyiş/çöküş evrelerini, merkezinde “asabiyye” kavramının yer aldığı kendi kapsamlı tarih ve toplum teorisiyle açıklamaktadır. Bu teorisini İslam öncesi dinlerin, özellikle de Yahudi dininin temel konularına da uygulamaktadır. Bu makale İbn Haldun’un, asabiyye kavramı aracılığıyla İsrailoğulları tarihine yönelik yorumunu ele almayı ve bu yorumun, İsrailoğulları’nın seçilmişliği fikriyle bağlantılı görünen bazı çağrışımlarını gün ışığına çıkarmayı amaçlamaktadır. Bunu yaparken İbn Haldun’un İsrailoğulları’na yönelik açıklamaları ve bu bağlamda kullandığı asabiyye kavramı ile Baruch Spinoza’nın seçilmişlik yorumu arasındaki bazı benzerliklere de dikkat çekilmektedir.  

References

  • Abdul Karim, Abdul Halim. “Ibn Khaldun and Confucius: A Preliminary Compara-tive Analysis between ‘Asabiyyah and Wu Lun.” al-Shajarah: Journal of the In-ternational Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization 11, no. 1 (2006): 1-26.
  • Bland, Karman. “An Islamic Theory of Jewish History: The Case of Ibn Khaldun.” Journal of Asian and African Studies 18, nos 3-4 (1983): 189-197. Durkheim, Emile. The Division of Labor in Society. Translated by W. D. Halls. London: Macmillan, 1984.
  • Geller, Jay. “Spinoza's Election of the Jews: The Problem of Jewish Persistence”. Jewish Social Studies: History, Culture and Society 12, no. 1 (2005): 39-63.
  • Grabbe, Lester L. Judaic Religion in the Second Temple Period: Belief and Practice from the Exile to Yavneh. London/New York: Routledge, 2000.
  • Ibn Khaldun, al-Muqaddimah. Edited by Abdesselam Cheddadi. al-Dar al-Bayda [Casablanca]: Bayt al-Fununwa’l-Ulumwa’l-Adab, 2005, 3 vols.
  • ________. The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History. Translated by F. Rosenthal. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1958, 3 vols.
  • Kayapınar, Akif. “Ibn Khaldun’s Concept of Assabiyya: An Alternative Tool for Understanding Long-Term Politics?” Asian Journal of Social Science 36, nos 3-4 (2008): 375-407.
  • Koehler, Ludwig and Walter Baumgartner. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. Translated by M. E. J. Richardson. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1996.
  • Mahdi, Muhsin. Ibn Khaldûn’s Philosophy of History: A Study in the Philosophic Founda-tion of the Science of Culture. London and New York: Routledge, 1957.
  • Maimonides, Moses. The Guide of the Perplexed. Translated by S. Pines. Chica-go/London: The University of Chicago Press, 1963, 2 vols.
  • Meyer, Michael A. Jewish Identity in the Modern World. Seattle/London: University of Washington Press, 1990.
  • Mohammad, Fida. “Ibn Khaldun’s Theory of Social Change: A Comparison with Hegel, Marx and Durkheim.” The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 15, no. 2 (1998): 25-45.
  • Nadler, Steven. Spinoza’s Ethics: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
  • Nadler, Steven. “The Jewish Spinoza”. Journal of the History of Ideas 70, no. 3 (2009): 491-510.
  • Neusner, Jacob. Torah Through the Ages: A Short History of Judaism. London: SCM Press, 1990.
  • Niehaus, Jeffrey J. Ancient Near Eastern Themes in Biblical Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2008.
  • Pines, S. “Ibn Khaldun and Maimonides, A Comparison between Two Texts.” Studia Islamica 32 (1970): 265-274.
  • Rosenthal, Michael A. “Why Spinoza Chose the Hebrews: The Exemplary Function of Prophecy in the Theological-Political Treatise.” In Jewish Themes in Spinoza’s Philosophy, ed. Heidi M. RavvenandLenn E. Goodman. New York: State Uni-versity of New York Press, 2002, 225-260.
  • Spinoza, Baruch. Tractatus Theologico-Politicus. Translated by Samuel Shirley. Lei-den/New York: E.J. Brill, 1991.
  • ________. Ethics. Translated by A. Boyle. London: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd., 1938.
There are 20 citations in total.

Details

Journal Section Articles
Authors

Salime Leyla Gürkan

Publication Date June 15, 2017
Published in Issue Year 2017 Volume: 19 Issue: 35

Cite

ISNAD Gürkan, Salime Leyla. “İBN HALDUN’UN İSRAİLOĞULLARI TARİHİNE YÖNELİK YAKLAŞIMI: ASABİYYE KAVRAMININ SEÇİLMİŞLİK FİKRİNE UYGULANMASI”. Sakarya Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 19/35 (June 2017), 103-119. https://doi.org/10.17335/sakaifd.298032.

 Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

SAUIFD accepts the Open Access Journal Policy for expanding and flourishing of knowledge.