Ibn Khaledun & the theroy of Asaabiyah

Ibn Khaldun is the most important figure in the field of History and Sociology in Muslim History. He is one of those shining stars that contributed so richly to the understanding of Civilization. In order for one to understand and appreciate his work, one must understand his life. He lived a life in search of stability and influence. He came from a family of scholars and politicians and he intended to live up to both expectations. He would succeed in the field of Scholarship much more so than in any other field.
ibn Khaldun was born in Tunis on May 27, 1332. He received a traditional education from his father who was a scholarly person who was not involved in politics like his ancestors. He memorized the Qur’an by heart, learned grammar, Jurisprudence, Hadith, rhetoric, philology, and poetry. He had reached certain proficiency in these subjects and received certification in them.

What Is Ibn Khaldun’s Theory of Asabiyyah

According to the Arab-English Lexicon, the term ‘Asabiyyah emerged from the word “ta’asub” which literally means “bounding the turban round head”. Thus,  ‘Asabiyyah which refers to the action of ones in helping his people or his group against any aggressive action, the quality of a person who is angry for the sake of his group and protecting them, the action of ones who invites others to help his group, facing those who act hostility towards them whether they are wrongdoers or wronged, the action of an individual who associate with others or of him who protects others or  partisanship and a strong association with holds numbers of person closely bound based on the same interest and opinion...” .In the saying of the Prophet, ‘Asabiyyah was explained by him as “helping your own people in an unjust cause”, where the Prophet says, “He is not of us who proclaims the cause of tribal partisanship and he is not of us who fights in the cause of tribal partisanship; and he is not of us who dies in the cause of tribal partisanship” .When the Prophet was asked by the Companions about the meaning of ‘Asabiyyah (tribal partisanship), he explained :“(It means) your helping your own people in an unjust cause” .Interestingly, the term ‘Asabiyyah used by Ibn Khaldun in his theory of social development has been translated in various ways by recent scholars.

Ibn Khaldun uses the term Asabiyyah to describe the bond of cohesion among humans in a group forming  community.  The bond, Asabiyyah, exists at any level of civilization, from nomadic society to states and empires.  Asabiyyah is most strong in the nomadic phase, and decreases as civilization advances. As this Asabiyyah declines, another more compelling Asabiyyah may take its place; thus, civilizations rise and fall, and history describes these cycles of Asabiyyah as they play out.

Ibn Khaldun argues that each dynasty or civilization has within itself the seeds of its own downfall. He explains that ruling houses tend to emerge on the peripheries of great empires and use the much stronger `asabiyya present in those areas to their advantage, in order to bring about a change in leadership. This implies that the new rulers are at first considered "barbarians" by comparison to the old ones. As they establish themselves at the center of their empire, they become increasingly lax, less coordinated, disciplined and watchful, and more concerned with maintaining their new power and lifestyle at the centre of the empire the `asabiyya, dissolves into factionalism and individualism, diminishing their capacity as a political unit. Thus, conditions are created wherein a new dynasty can emerge at the periphery of their control, grow strong, and effect a change in leadership, beginning the cycle anew.

Khaldun's central concept of ‘Asabiyyah, or "social cohesion", seems to anticipate modern conceptions of social capital arising in social networks.

This cohesion arises spontaneously in tribes and other small kinship groups; and it can be intensified and enlarged by a religious ideology. Khaldun's analysis looks at how this cohesion carries groups to power but contains within itself the seeds - psychological, sociological, economic, political - of the group's downfall, to be replaced by a new group, dynasty or empire bound by a stronger cohesion.