Abstract

lbn khaldun’s thought which was characterized by innovation in many of its aspects, has received a lot of attention by many researchers, studies, related to the various topics tackled in “Almuqaddama”. Historians, however, did not pay Ibn khalduns historical thought enough attention so as to render prominent its important status in khaldunian thought in general, and to reveal the fact that lbn Khaldun was more of a historian than anything else; for Ibn Khaldun is a historian whose deep thought and wide knowledge of generate hi- story helped establish the subject of ‘the philosophy of history’. The accuracy that he demanded in historiography resulted in the establishment of ‘Al-Omran’ now called sociology. Thus, Al-Omran is no more than :1 criterion by which the truthfulness of historical data can be checked bv the historian. Therefore, historians ought to pay Al-muqaddama as much attention as that paid by other scholars, for Al-muqaddama has dealt with many of the mistakes and lies in historiography and then can help researchers deduce a distinguished historical method. The present study attempts to carry out this deduction process. It starts with a review of the khaldunian classification of the historians in terms of their accuracy, honesty and methods, and the reasons that incited Ibn Khaldun to study history and to detect the causes of its falsehood. Next, the study presents the historical methods that have been deduced from Al-muqaddama and then compares it with the modern historical method and its steps which start with the characteristics of the historian and goes through the stages that he has to follow, and these include: criticism process, the verification of historical facts, the organization of these facts, and providing reasons and explanation.