living islam _ Islamic tradition

Ibrahim M. Oweiss
http://www.georgetown.edu/oweiss/ibn.htm

In his Prolegomena (The Muqaddimah), 'Abd al-Rahman Ibn Muhammad Ibn
Khaldun al-Hadrami of Tunis (A.D. 1332-1406), commonly known as Ibn
Khaldun, laid down the foundations of different fields of knowledge,
in particular the science of civilization (al-'umran). His significant
contributions to economics, however, should place him in the history
of economic thought as a major forerunner, if not the "father," of
economics, a title which has been given to Adam Smith, whose great
works were published some three hundred and seventy years after Ibn
Khaldun's death. Not only did Ibn Khaldun plant the germinating seeds
of classical economics, whether in production, supply, or cost, but he
also pioneered in consumption, demand, and utility, the cornerstones
of modern economic theory.

Before Ibn Khaldun, Plato and his contemporary Xenophon presented,
probably for the first time In writing, a crude account of the
specialization and division of labor. On a non-theoretical level, the
ancient Egyptians used the techniques of specialization, particularly
in the era of the Eighteenth Dynasty, in order to save time and to
produce more work per hour. Following Plato, Aristotle proposed a
definition of economics and considered the use of money in his
analysis of exchange. His example of the use of a shoe for wear and
for its use in exchange was later presented by Adam Smith as the value
in use and the value in exchange. Another aspect of economic thought
before Ibn Khaldun was that of the Scholastics and of the Canonites,
who proposed placing economics within the framework of laws based on
religious and moral perceptions for the good of all human beings.
Therefore all economic activities were to be undertaken in accordance
with such laws.

Ibn Khaldun was cognizant of these ideas, including the one relating
to religious and moral perceptions. The relationship between moral and
religious principles on one hand and good government on the other is
effectively expounded in his citation and discussion of Tahir Ibn
al-Husayn's (A.D. 775-822) famous letter to his son 'Abdallah, who
ruled Khurasan with his descendants until A.D. 872.1 From the
rudimentary thoughts of Tahir2 he developed a theory of taxation which
has affected modern economic thought and even economic policies in the
United States and elsewhere.

This paper attempts to give Ibn Khaldun his forgotten and long overdue
credit and to place him properly within the history of economic
thought. He was preceded by a variety of economic but elemental ideas
to which he gave substance and depth. Centuries later these same ideas
were developed by the Mercantilists, the commercial capitalists of the
seventeenth century-Sir William Petty (A.D. 1623-1687), Adam Smith
(A.D. 1723-1790), David Ricardo (A.D. 1772-1823), Thomas R. Malthus
(A.D. 1766-1834), Karl Marx (A.D. 1818-1883), and John Maynard Keynes
(A.D. 1883-1946), to name only a few-and finally by contemporary
economic theorists.

Work for this world as if you would live forever, but work for your next
life as if you would die tomorrow. - Sidi Ahmad Zarrooq (d. 1492 C.E.)