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The Relation Between 'Asabiyyah and Chos SOME IMPLICATIONS OF IBN KHALDUN’S APPROACH TO THE HISTORY OF THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL: THE RELATION BETWEEN ‘ASABIYYAH AND CHOSENNESS ∗ Salime Leyla GÜRKAN Abstract Ibn Khaldun, in his famous Muqaddimah, an “Introduction to History”, explains the stages of the rise and fall of nations through his comprehensive theory of history and society, under- pinned by the concept of ‘asabiyyah or “group feeling”. Ibn Khaldun applies 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 by highlighting some possible implications of it as regards the idea of the election of Israel. An emphasis is also laidon parallels with Spinoza’s interpretation of the election of Israel. Key Words: Ibn Khaldun, Muqaddimah, ‘Asabiyyah, The people of Israel, Election/chosenness, Spinoza. İBN HALDUN’UN İSRAİLOĞULLARI TARİHİNE YÖNELİK YAKLAŞIMI ÜZERİNE BAZI ÇIKARIMLAR: ASABİYE-SEÇİLMİŞLİK İLİŞKİSİ Öz İbn Haldun, meşhur Mukaddime’sinde, toplumların yükseliş ve gerileyiş/çöküş evrelerini, mer- kezinde “asabiye” kavramının yer aldığı kendi kapsamlı tarih ve toplum teorisiyle açıklamakta- dır. Bu teoriyi İslam öncesi dinlerin, özellikle de Yahudi dininin temel konularına da uygulamak- tadır. Bu makale İbn Haldun’un, asabiye kavramı aracılığıyla İsrailoğulları tarihine yönelik yo- rumunu ele almayı ve bu yorumun, İsrailoğulları’nın seçilmişliği fikriyle bağlantılı görünen bazı çağrışımlarını gün ışığına çıkarmayı amaçlamaktadır. Bunu yaparken İbn Haldun’un İsrailoğulla- rı’na yönelik açıklamaları ve bu bağlamda kullandığı asabiye kavramı ile Spinoza’nın seçilmişlik yorumu arasındaki bazı benzerliklere de dikkat çekilmektedir. Anahtar Kelimeler: İbn Haldun, Mukaddime, Asabiye, İsrailoğulları, Seçilmişlik, Spinoza. Ibn Khaldun, in his famous “Introduction to History”, Muqaddimah, explains the stages of the rise and fall of nations through his comprehensive theory of history and society, or, even better, sociology, i.e., what he calls ‘ilm al- ‘umran. He indicates ethnic, religious, economic, geographical, and socio- psychological forces that determine human history and society and thereby proposes some general principles for explaining the nature and working of the societies. What is fundamental to his theory is the concept of ‘asabiyyah, a term which is usually translated as “group feeling”, “group solidari- ∗ Assoc. Professor, İstanbul 29 Mayıs University. The author would like to thank Syed Farid Alatas and Oliver Leaman, as well as the anonymous reviewers, for their valuable com- ments and suggestions on this paper. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17335/sakaifd.298032 Geliş T. / Received Date: 14/03/2017 Kabul T. / Accepted Date: 12/06/2017 104 | Salime Leyla GÜRKAN ty/loyalty”, “group consciousness”, “social cohesion”, or “communal ethos”1 Scholars from various disciplines have written on different aspects of Ibn Khaldun’s sociology. What interests this paper, however, is a considerably lesser-examined aspect of Ibn Khaldun’s thought which pertains to his ap- plication of his theory and the underlying concept to the main topics of the pre-Islamic religions. In fact, Ibn Khaldun’s approach, in this sense, could be considered a pioneering one, not only in sociology and politics, but also in history of religions, as he demonstrates the dynamics of societies as well as religious groups, especially the people of Israel. For our purposes what is particularly important in Ibn Khaldun’s theory is his suggestion of a close relation between group solidarity, i.e., what he calls ‘asabiyyah, prophetic mission, and royal or political authority. This is a crucial point in understanding the relationship between society, religion, and state as a natural process. Ibn Khaldun maintains that both the prophet- ic mission and royal authority can be fully achieved with ‘asabiyyah, which “results only from blood relation or something corresponding to it”, and the concomitant superiority.2 In other words, prophets and leaders, in order to achieve the goal of establishing a religion and a state, respectively, depend on the help and support of their kinsfolk or tribe. In return, religion, by lead- ing the members of a tribe to a common goal, eliminates rivalries among its different houses or dynasties and thus strengthens the dimension of solidari- ty in the already existing group feeling of the tribe. Religion, in this way, plays an indirect role in achieving royal authority, which is, for Ibn Khaldun, the ultimate goal of ‘asabiyyah. For, according to Ibn Khaldun, in the estab- lishment of large states and the attainment of wide political power, in par- ticular, tribal solidarity alone is not sufficient. For this purpose, the unity of 1 Abdul Halim Abdul Karim, “Ibn Khaldun and Confucius: A Preliminary Comparative Analysis between ‘Asabiyyah and Wu Lun”, al-Shajarah: Journal of the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization 11, no. 1 (2006): 8-14; Fida Mohammad, “Ibn Khaldun’s The- ory of Social Change: A Comparison with Hegel, Marx and Durkheim”, The American Jour- nal of Islamic Social Sciences 15, no. 2 (1998): 36-38; Akif Kayapınar, “Ibn Khaldun’s Concept of Assabiyya: An Alternative Tool for Understanding Long-Term Politics?” Asian Journal of Social Science 36, nos 3-4 (2008): 378; Muhsin Mahdi, Ibn Khaldûn’s Philosophy of History: A Study in the Philosophic Foundation of the Science of Culture (London and New York: Routledge, 1957), 196. For a modern version of a similar conceptualization in classical socio- logical theory, see Emile Durkheim’s notion of “group-mind” or “collective mind” (âme col- lective) or “collective consciousness” (conscience collective) as he proposes in his The Division of Labor in Society, trans. W. D. Halls (London: Macmillan, 1984), 39. 2 Ibn Khaldûn, The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History, trans. F. Rosenthal (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1958), vol. 2, 264; Ibn Khaldun, al-Muqaddimah, ed. Abdes- selamCheddadi (al-Dar al-Bayda [Casablanca]: Bayt al-Fununwa’l-Ulumwa’l-Adab, 2005), vol. 1, 207. Sakarya Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi (SAUİFD), Cilt: XIX, Sayı: 35 (Haziran 2017) THE RELATION BETWEEN ‘ASABIYYAH AND CHOSENNESS | 105 objectives that go beyond kinship is also required.3 In other words, Ibn Khaldun considers both the tribal solidarity (i.e., ‘asabiyyah in the narrow sense) and the unity of objectives (i.e., religion in the narrow sense) as neces- sary elements for the establishment of societies as well as states; this, for him, is a natural and inevitable process in human history. From this fact it should not be assumed, however, that he denies the metaphysical dimension of social events. On the contrary, in Ibn Khaldun’s understanding, which is of an apparent Islamic background, what is natural or social is not inde- pendent of God’s will; it rather works in accordance to the very design of God. As put by Ibn Khaldun himself, God, in His wisdom, “permit[s] mat- ters to take their customary course”.4 This, as rightly indicated by Fida Mo- hammad, is “the inevitable course of historical laws”, which are themselves the formation of God; and what is most important about this process is that “by knowing those laws a civilization can prolong itself.” 5 ‘Asabiyyah of the People of Israel As suggested by Ibn Khaldun, it is possible to find the actual realisation and the best example of the relation between ‘asabiyyah, religion, and royal au- thority as well as the dynamics that determine and affect this relation, in the history of the people of Israel. This is why Ibn Khaldun frequently refers in his work to the case of the Israelites. It is an established fact that Ibn Khal- dun, in this way, generated an exceptionally objective and scientific ap- proach to the history of the Jewish people, to quote Kalman Bland, “by locat- ing it within the levelling theoretical framework of universal historiog- raphy”.6 To explain the course of Jewish history in the light of universal social laws, as Ibn Khaldun did, also leads to a new way of understanding the qur’anic verses on the Israelites, especially those related to their struggle to become a monotheistic people and remain so, i.e., their achievements as well as their failures;7 in this way the Jewish case becomes an example for the general human condition. It is also possible to argue that the causal rules of Ibn Khaldun’s universal theory relate to a central doctrine of the Jewish religion, i.e., the biblical idea of the election of Israel, although Ibn Khaldun never explicitly uses the 3 Ibn Khaldûn, The Muqaddimah, vol. 1, 284-286, 313-322; al-Muqaddimah, vol. 1, 226-227, 259- 272. 4 Ibn Khaldûn, The Muqaddimah, vol. 1, 324; al-Muqaddimah, vol. 1, 270. 5 Mohammad, “Ibn Khaldun’s Theory of Social Change”, 30. 6 Karman Bland, “An Islamic Theory of Jewish History: The Case of Ibn Khaldun”, Journal of Asian and African Studies 18, nos 3-4 (1983): 193. 7 See, for example, Qur’an, 2/47-66; 5/20-26; 7/128-156; 28/5-6. Sakarya Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi (SAUİFD), Cilt: XIX, Sayı: 35 (Haziran 2017) 106 | Salime Leyla GÜRKAN term.8 It is suggested here that, from Ibn Khaldun’s viewpoint, what is called chosenness or holiness in Jewish Scripture can be understood to serve for the purpose of creating group solidarity and socio-political superiority. To put in another way, as far as the people of Israel are concerned, chosen- ness/holiness becomes an essential attribute or property of their ‘asabiyyah. Ibn Khaldun asserts that the Jews did not have a universal mission, but were “merely required to establish their religion among their own (peo- ple)”.9 The fact that the Israelites were basically an ethnic group, an ‘am as put in the Hebrew Bible, and, in parallel to this, their religious organisation was based on ethnicity (in the sense of Greek ethnikos, not in terms of the modern sociological understanding), i.e., kinship, apparently like all other peoples of their time, is well evidenced by the Jewish Scripture itself.
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