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Sociology International Journal

Review Article Volume 7 Issue 2

Social context of philosophy the case Andalusian philosophy upon Ibn Khaldun’s historical report

Mohammadreza Shahidipak

Department of Humanity, Islamic Azad University, Iran

Correspondence: Mohammadreza Shahidipak, Department of Humanity, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran branch, Iran

Received: April 06, 2023 | Published: April 17, 2023

Citation: Shahidipak M. Social context of philosophy the case Andalusian philosophy upon Ibn Khaldun’s historical report. Sociol Int J. 2023;7(2):75-78. DOI: 10.15406/sij.2023.07.00326

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Abstract

Hypothesis is that global philosophy was formed in Andalusia in late middle Ages due to specific social changes in Andalusia. Change in science and especially philosophy is based on social context. Social context is caused by a kind of population diversity which is a ready field for a certain type of philosophical thinking and generally causes general flow of philosophy. Formation of three-religious society was a new social context that required the development of philosophy. Philosophy, as a tool for the dialogue of nations, initially played a role in place where Muslim, Christian, Jewish nations settled next to each other, and at the same time, a constructive interaction between philosophers of three religions was formed. And Averroes (1198),his student Jewish Ibn Maimon(1204), and the Christian Aquinas (1274)are symbols of dialogue between religious .Development of interaction is such that theologians of three religions appeared and even bookes beyond thoughts of three religions was compiled.and Averroes spirit philosophy of medieval ,by announcing independence of reason from religion, provided capital for discussion and also Aquinas tried to show this unity of religions and intellect by writing book "Summa Theologica". This article shows constructive interaction of philosophy and change in a historical event in late middle Ages, which is always possible to useful. Research is based on a report by Ibn Khaldun who said: Philosophy is dead in West of Islamic territories by Arab demographic composition and has awakened in Europe and in Iran is alive because of efforts of Nasir al-Din al-Tus(1274).

Keywords: social change, philosophy, Islamic world, religions

Introduction

Social change, geographical change and change of thinking

In addition to Ibn Khaldun's historical study on state of philosophy in three parts of world, pure sociological research also indicates a direct relationship between development of philosophy and social change, and in field of common theology of nations, it also confirms religious teachings of Qur'an.1There is a direct connection between social change and change in thinking. "Allah does not change a people's lot unless they change what is in their hearts” (Quran, vers ,Ra’d,11). In the late Middle Ages, there was a huge population movement from east to west, and a large part of the population of the east was concentrated in the west of the Islamic world. This demographic event became the context of character change in the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb. The issue is that with Averroes's way of thinking and rationalism, which is in fact the same Shia rationalism, whose roots go back to the first text produced in the humanities, Nahj al-Balagha. In the primary sources of Shia, there are independent works on the place of intellect as one of the sources of acquiring knowledge. There are scattered fragments of Nahj al-Balagha among the primary sources before the 8th century AD, and the principles of Shia sources in Kafi book is an independent chapter on intellect. This amount of material about the definition of reason is enough to talk about the roots of rationalism in the medieval world. The noteworthy point is the historical material that proves the hypothesis of the article. And it shows that there is a direct relationship between rationalism and the development of philosophy in societies. In societies that have rationalist sources, philosophy is always alive among them, and in societies that do not have rationalist sources, philosophy is dead among them. For example, in the target society, i.e. Islamic societies in the middle Ages, four societies can be compared. The three Shiite societies in Iran, Egypt and Andalusia, which have the roots of rationalism, philosophy is alive and flourishing in them, and the Sunni societies, which have the roots of anti-rationalism, philosophy is dead. The ideological leader of the Sunni societies during the era of these three Shia governments, Imam Muhammad Ghazali, wrote a book titled "The Paradox of the Philosophers" and considered them corrupt for twenty-one reasons. The method of the research article is in the form of historical sociology with the tendency of Habermas that a historical statement should be discussed without removing the influence of religion. Opposition to rationalism,It started in Baghdad in the Middle Ages and soon found fans in Andalusia and in southern Europe and then in Paris and England. Ibn Rushd's reaction from Cordoba in central Andalusia was different. He showed a deep logical reaction to the idea of opposition to rationalism and anti-philosophy and wrote a book rejecting Ghazali's anti-philosophical ideas and accused him of contradiction. The main hypothesis of the research is what is the cause of these selective encounters with philosophy in the world. Why was Ibn Rushd excommunicated in Paris, London, Morocco, and Baghdad, but he was welcomed by the Jewish community of Andalusia (followers of Ibn Maimon) and the English Latin Ibn Rushd.

Geographical change: emergence of Maghreb and Andalusia geographical unit in middle ages

Maghreb and Andalusia was a new geographical and social unit that was formed in late Middle Ages following migration of large Muslim population from east to west.2 Became In this thesis, according to divisions of Islamic geographers in Middle Ages,3 social changes are explained

Social change in new regional unit west of Islamic territories

The most obvious social change in late Middle Ages is demographic changes in West of Islamic territories, and there are many reports and researches about it.4 Suddenly, within sixty years, a large area of world, which now includes North Africa and Iberian Peninsula, had a new demographic structure of cities with a new form and a new language, culture and religion. All these changes in a short period of time are still a sign of surprise in research, especially research of orientalists, some of whom, like Reinhart Dozi, a Dutch-Spanish orientalist, spent their lives at investigation in this region.5

Change of thinking in west of Islamic unit

More obvious than social changes are changes in thinking and emergence and development of philosophy in this region. Transmission of knowledge of thought from East and West to this region and their meeting with each other became a factor in accelerating intellectual changes in this region, and a complete and developed example of a new civilization was formed in this region of world, and such a Hunkah6 which enlightened Europe in Dark Ages, especially in philosophical thought. An example is Averroes,7 whose thoughts were spirit of philosophy in Middle Ages and became cause of philosophical movements of human mind in Europe, and8 Averroes, by saving teachings of Aristotle and Plato from destruction, offered a model of global philosophy in this region. So far, it is in center of attention.9

Demography and beginning of sociology

Article is a study of a very dense and new population that settled in Iberian Peninsula and North Africa with forced or purposeful migration in 8th and 9th AD centuries. Because contemporary sociologists, especially Cambridge Center in study of population and history, believe in a close and direct connection between historical demography and sociology.10 Some contemporary sociologists still do not have a correct understanding of beginning of sociology and consider demographic changes after industrial revolution to be beginning of sociology,11 but this is not true, rather this article shows that beginning of sociology was demographic changes in late Middle Ages in Maghreb of Iberian Peninsula and It is Africa that demographic changes and their consequences have been studied secularly and outside of theology by Ibn Khaldun, and application of that study is sociology of community changes.

Research materials: character by movement of population

Character was given to west of Islamic territories by changes and movement of population. Idrisids and Fatimids brought Arabic character and Shiite Islam to Maghreb, And Umayyad tribes of Arabs have a personality that avoids rationalism and introduced prejudice against Sunnah of Salaf in West of Islamic territories.12 Four new demographic compositions in Islamic West brought anydifferent personalities and distinct ideas to west of Islamic territories.

Demographic changes in social sphere, in west of Islamic territories

Demographic changes are basis of changes of thought in Islamic West, which showed itself in form of Forced migration and purposeful migration and caused formation of new cities there.These new centers of population in west became place where Arabs, Berbers, Jews, and Christians met and lived together.13

Idrisian and urbanization of Maghreb

Idrisids state (788-974) , with personality attraction attributed to t prophet and companion of Imam Reza, formed greatest extent of urbanization in Maghreb and built about twenty cities.14

Fatimids urban development, demographic changes in Maghreb, Afrifqyah

Fatimids (909-1171) built their religious city named Mahdiyeh, attributed to expected man (AL-Mahdi), their first capital in Maghreb, and by building two other cities and a multitude of urban services and facilities, they gave Afriqyah an urban appearance15

Khawarij pioneers of urban changes in Maghreb

Khawarij were among first group who fled from East to West in first half of first century of Hijri as a result of political and social changes in East, and as far as they could, they moved away from Hejaz, Damascus, and Baghdad, centers of Islamic Caliphate, and settled on western Mediterranean and Atlas coasts, and three cities named Sijilmassa, Taharet and Basra were built in Maghreb َAghsa, Middle Maghreb and Afriqiyah at first. Kharijites were a group of Arabs from Meca region of Islamic East, who were widely rejected by most groups in center of Islamic power and were absorbed by primitive Berber tribes in farthest parts of Maghreb.16

Migration of Umayyad Arabs from east to Andalusia

A multitude of Umayyad Arabs were numerous tribes who settled in different parts of Andalusia in second century of Hijri(7&8AD) and provided ground for greatest population mixing in Middle Ages and created urban areas with a high density of Arab Berber Persians, Muslims, Christians, and Jews.17 Umayyad Arabs who were repelled from east of Islamic world were settled and absorbed in west of Islamic world to achieve specific goals, that is, to monopolize the western Islamic field and eliminate Shiism and establish Umayyad state of Andalusia in key points of Andalusia.18

Sociological applied research method, explanation and analysis of historical sociology, historical report

Method of discussion of historical sociology is based on analysis and explanation of historical reports related to Islamic West from arrival of Islam to establishment of large states in Islamic West and cultural interaction between Islam, Christianity and Judaism. And it rests on two legs. Berber racial changes and language changes in Islamic West. In sociology, two changes are signs of social change, among personality factors for societies, factor of population composition prevails over other hypothetical factors such as water and air, natural environment, and genetic treasure.19

Changes of Berber race: social origin of Berber mountain urbanization in Islamic west

Berbers are the indigenous elements of the Islamic West, who lived in the desert and mountains as primitive tribes before the arrival of idea of Islam to Maghreb. Arrival of Islam in Maghreb caused displacement of Berber community and this transition coincided with changes in Berber thought. How Berbers became urbanized in North Africa has received attention of several scholars.20 because one of points of science of urbanism that has occurred in different regions of world is determining origin of urbanization of societies. In case of Islamic West, it is emphasized that reason for urbanization of primitive and mountainous areas of North Africa is Arabic language and religion of Islam, and this language was greatly welcomed by Berbers and became native language of Berbers .Several occult researchers have confirmed this fact that urbanization of North Africa indicates social changes that took place after arrival of Islam in North Africa.21

Language changes: intersection of Arabic and Berber languages and native languages of Andalusia

Language and its changes are best symbol of change22 Language itself is ethnology. In this research, there is a best field of historical sociology of language. Because in discussed area of Islamic West in middle Ages, a language change took place. But these changes were incomplete, language changed in a part of it and remained same, and until now the language of all North Africa is Arabic. But language did not change in Hebrew and remained native language. Research has analyzed and explained this linguistic change in a geographical region called Islamic West.23

 Arabization just in Maghreb

A part of the Islamic West became completely Arabic and Berbers in West abandoned their native language. Africa and Middle Maghreb and Aqsa were part of Arab lands and joined Arab Egypt24 and language there became Arabic and the pure Arab race was formed there and a special dialect of Arabic language became popular among tpeople and Arabic language Education and language of common people in daily life. Contrary to this, in Andalusia, language was not included in everyday life, but only found a wide level of influence.25 So that even today there are more than six thousand Arabic words in colloquial language of Spain.

Non Arabization in Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain)

One of reasons for fall of Spain and failure to establish stability of Arab population there is survival of native language of Spain and Portugal and lack of expansion of Arabic language there. People of this region never left their language an native language was base of resistance against Arab conquerors. A religious change took place and religion of Christ gave way to Islam in Andalusia, but this did not remain stable and in shadow of native language, cores of resistance of religion of Christ were formed, and during presence of Muslims in Andalusia, there was always a crusade going on in this large area, and the most number of wars has been recorded here, and among them, some decisive national battles between Islam and Christianity, such as battle of Al-Aqab and Al-Arak, have been recorded.26

Andalusia recapture wars: “Reconquista”

 Historical report showed that entire Islamic presence in Iberia went to war and powerful European factor that did not allow language of Iberian Peninsula to change from native to Arabic. This series of wars have been mentioned in Iberia with name of open withdrawal wars. Reconquista wars or recapture of Andalusia is a sign of instability of Arab government in Andalusia from first moments of its establishment. Development of these warss also caused fall of Andalusia and its return to Europe, and capture of Eastern Mediterranean by Europe, and Mediterranean became Crusader Sea and went out of control of Islamic power, and ground of power was provided for transfer of civilization from East to West. Andalusia had stored a lot of Islamic and Iranian culture and civilization in these nine hundred years of Arab presence.27 In this way, war prevented sustainable social change in the form of language change.

Discussion and research perspective

A series of extensive and long population recruitments and migrations took place during two centuries in the Islamic West and Southern Europe, which led to a change in the personality of the Maghreb and Iberian people. Demographic events in Maghreb and Andalusia have not a closed case, and question arises as to how mass of immigrants to the Maghreb and Andalusia changed in short fashion of character of this region. The strong point of the discussion is that after these social changes which formed the basis of philosophical thinking, a religious tendency that had the capitals of rationalism became the flag bearer of philosophy in the Islamic world, and among them Ibn Rushd emerged as a shining torch of world philosophy and was noticed. For the East and the West, the world had a single message of a philosophical system that is agreed upon by the rationalists and intellectuals of every nation. And this article showed this very well. There is a shadow of rationalism on all of Ibn Rushd's works. The deviation from philosophy and the death of philosophy started with moving away from the source of rationality in the Islamic world, and life of philosophy is provided by returning to it again.

Revival of philosophy in Europe and its death in Maghreb and its life in Iran

Ibn Khaldoun, one of historians who witnessed fall of Andalusia,20 has investigated root causes and considered one of causes of fall to be distance from philosophy and death of philosophy in Maghreb and in east it is alive only because of efforts of Imam al-Mutaklimin Khwaja Nasir al-Din Tusi . Ibn Khaldun's judgment is a proof of evolution of thought in Maghreb and Ifriqyah since era of AL-Moravids and AL-Mo hads,28 and its theoretical foundations are found in interpretations of Ibn Bajeh, Ibn Tofail, and Ibn Rushd, and are found in their common interpretation of philosophy in Islamic West as an inevitable connection with society in Come These three Maghrebi philosophers faced common fate of isolation and were exposed to danger and suffering . And his judgment about survival of philosophy in Iran and its death in Islamic West following the abandonment of philosophy and intellectual sciences by Arabs and its continuation by foreigners and Iranians is proof of Ibn Khaldun's belief in Averroes as end of Islamic philosophy, but this view is weak. He is something to be pondered because he writes that philosophy in Iran is alive only in efforts of Khwaja Nasir al-Din Tusi, it is only in works of Tusi and Ibn Khatib.29

Reason for collapse, philosophical thought in west of Islamic territories

One of facts of history of intellectual science in world is that world in Middle Ages took a different position against rationalism and relying on pure reason and independence of reason against religion and belief in authenticity of philosophy, and thinkers of world were divided into two categories, Logic and philosophy were banned in a part of the Islamic world. And some scholars of four sects of Allah Sunnah issued a fatwa that anyone who reads logic is an infidel, and ,Ghazali (1111) issued a fatwa that philosophers are infidels for several reasons.30 Those who believed in independence of philosophy from religion and relied on originality of reason against originality of religion, and those who rejected originality of philosophy and considered reason to be subordinate to religion.standard bearer of rationalism and philosophy in medieval world is Averroes.He is flag bearer of opposition to Ghazali's philosophy. This is an internal development and confrontation in east and west of our Islamic world. In East, originality of reason was rejected and rationalism was banned, and rationalism found its place in West of Islamic world, and Averroes, by reviving and renewing, describing and preserving works of Aristotle, created a physical stage in evolution of philosophy in world, which was also welcomed in Europe. It was placed and banned and excommunicated by Church of Paris and London.31 According to Ibn Khaldoun's studies and reports, Arabs and barbarian tribes that joined it and tintellectual and political orientation of this group of Arabs and religious and ignorant prejudices of Arabs are an obstacle to rationalism and fall and death of philosophy in Islamic West. In several historical accounts of Ibn Khaldun, has been clearly mentioned physical role of Arab demographic composition in prevent development of philosophy in West of Islamic teritorise. Dozi, as a orientalist, has introduced Berbers of AL-Moravids as primitive Arabs and an obstacle to expansion of civilization.

Results

Article shows that philosophical changes and changes in thought occurred after social changes .These demographic changes inIslamic West with population density following migration and displacement of people and hardships of origin elites are social changes in Islamic West. Effect of which is to prepare social context of cultural and thought changes. History has shown that between the rationalist countries that have rationalist capitals and the states without rationalist capitals, social transformation causes that in Shia societies with rationalist capital, such as the target society of Andalusia during the reign of the Shia Mohedin government, Ibn Rushd the philosopher and A jurist and affiliated with this state became the standard bearer of world philosophy in the Middle Ages. It seems that the heavy shadow of crusader and religious prejudice prevented the same treatment with Ibn Rushd's rationalism in the middle Ages, and Ibn Rushd suffered due to these contradictory encounters with philosophers and philosophers. He was exiled and died.

Achieved, finding: paradigm of global philosophy

Studying and exploring social change and understanding its factors provides a model for controlling current and future societies, in the social patterns of production and transfer of knowledge, which can be used in all age. This model, as the research method requires, is a re-examination of the historical statement in the form of religion. The result of the article was that there is a direct relationship between the belief and capital of societies in the roots of rationalism and opposition to it. This root is found in the sources of the middle Ages, and it is a return to a safe paradigm for coexistence and peace, and it is the source and measure of universal theology and the source of global philosophy in every era, place and time, with every religion and religion.

Acknowledgments

None.

Conflicts of interest

None.

Funding

None.

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