Ibn Khaldun’s concept of the history of fiqh and its impact on the historiography of Islamic law in the modern era

• Published in: İbn Haldun çalışmaları dergisi (Online) Vol. 1; no. 1; pp. 33 - 62
• Main Author: Kızılkaya,Necmettin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Arabic; English
• Published: İbn Haldun Üniversitesi 2016; Ibn Haldun University
• Subjects: Edebiyat; Felsefe & Psikoloji & Sosyoloji; Historiography of Islamic Law; History of Islamic Law; Ibn Khaldun; Kültür & Sanat; Mimarlık ve Tasarım; Muqaddimah; Tarih; İstanbul; Türkiye; Muqaddimah; Historiography of Islamic Law; İbn Haldun; İslam Hukuk Tarihi; History of Islamic Law; Ibn Khaldun; Mukaddime; İslam Hukuk Tarihçiliği
• ISSN: 2651-379X
• DOI: 10.36657/ihcd.2016.0

As an Ash‘arī and Mālikī jurist, Ibn Khaldūn’s various theories, ranging from economics
to politics, sociology to philosophy, and history to literature have long been subject of inquiry by
prominent scholars. However, his opinion on Islamic sciences such as fiqh, hadith, tafsīr and their
historical development have rarely been subject of investigation. This article aims to present Ibn
Khaldūn’s views on the history of fiqh and its impact on modern historiography of Islamic law
through Muslim and Orientalist scholarship. The main framework of history of fiqh in his
Muqaddimah gave both Muslim and Western scholarship of history of Islamic Law an opportunity
to reconsider established views. After imperial politics and cultural impact of western countries on
Islamic societies, Muslim scholars and intellectuals tried to find solutions for increased modern
problems and intercept western challenge. As a result of this consideration, call for ijtihād arose
among Muslim scholars. They used Ibn Khaldūn’s concept of the history of Islamic Law in order to
justify their thesis by periodization of the history of Islamic Law within the framework of ijtihād
and taqlīd. On the other hand, since the main concern of western scholars is the origin of Islamic
Law, they applied his opinions to their approach to the early development of Islamic law. Although
both Muslim and Orientalist discourses used his attitude for legitimating their conceptions, they
did not consider his historical context.