Abstract
The scholars of Ibn Khaldūn are well familiar with frequent citations of the Qur’an
in the Muqaddimah. However, they have tended to see these either as rhetorical
embellishments or more generally as reflections of the Qur’anic injunction to reflect
on history for moral lessons (‘ibrah). Consequently, the possibility that certain
Qur’anic citations may hold greater meaning and significance in Ibn Khaldūn’s life
and thought has been largely ignored. The key difficulty for reading scriptural
citations differently in the Muqaddimah pertains to their allusive nature: Ibn
Khaldūn quotes Qur’anic verses without making their meaning explicit. I draw on
the work of Quentin Skinner to suggest a thorough-going approach to
understanding the meaning of these citations in the context of Ibn Khaldūn’sthought
and intellectual culture. I illustrate this approach and its significance by discussing
the notion of khalq-i-jadīd (Divine novelty in creation) in the Muqaddimah.
Baqar Hassan Syed. (2021) Understanding Scriptural Citations in Ibn Khaldūn’s Muqaddimah, Journal of the Punjab University Historical Society, Volume 34, issue 2.
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