In the 1300s EC, a leading Muslim scholar and “a peripatetic political guru,” known by his family name Ibn Khaldun, wrote a voluminous introduction, universally celebrated as Muqaddimah, in which he laid out the criteria necessary for distinguishing historical truth from error.

Six centuries later, Arnold Toynbee, the prominent British historian and theorist of civilizational development, described the Muqaddimah as “a philosophy of history which is undoubtedly the greatest work of its kind that has ever yet been created by any mind in any time or place.”

The BBC World Service, in its program The Forum, quoting the Scottish philosopher and theologian Robert Flint, described Ibn Khaldun as “a top scholar, a scheming political mastermind, a peripatetic political guru.”

Scholarly and political interest in Ibn Khaldun’s Muqaddimah has not waned. In fact, it is now extending beyond the eulogy bestowed on him by Toynbee and Flint. Recently, the mediaeval Muslim polymath became the focus of an edited volume titled Reading Ibn Khaldun: His Heritage, Applications, and Significance for Modern Science.

Published by the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, the multi-author volume is yet another demonstration of the enduring relevance of Ibn Khaldun’s intellectual legacy. The collection of essays stems from the two-day International Ibn Khaldun Colloquium held in the city of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates in December 2025. The event was organized jointly by the Sharjah International Foundation for the History of Arab and Muslim Sciences (SIFHAMS) at the University of Sharjah and the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Ljubljana.

The volume brings together scholars from diverse academic disciplines who contribute 16 chapters. Collectively, they frame Ibn Khaldun not merely as a historical figure in Islamic thought but also as a dynamic thinker whose conceptual frameworks offer insights for understanding contemporary social challenges.

Asked about the collection’s central insight, Mesut Idriz, Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Sharjah and co-editor of the volume, said, “One major takeaway is that Ibn Khaldun’s ideas are not simply historical theories; they can still help us understand how societies work today.”

“Ibn Khaldun’s concepts explain, in accessible terms, why people need social bonds and cooperation, how strong communities and states emerge, and how prosperity, leadership, taxation, education, and social cohesion can influence the strength or weakness of a society.”

Thinker for modern times

Ibn Khaldun, a Tunisian-born historian and philosopher, did not lead a quiet life. He lost his parents and relatives to a plague epidemic; some of the violent North African rulers he worked for imprisoned him for long periods, and his wife and children died in a shipwreck.

Despite his tumultuous life, the North African thinker was a prolific historian, philosopher, scholar, and statesman. However, he is mostly remembered for his Muqaddimah, which, more than six centuries after his death, continues to be cited by scholars across a wide range of disciplines, including management, political science, sociology, history, and economics.

The volume’s authors provide ample evidence that the Muqaddimah is still used as a guide to understanding civilizational change, power, and social cohesion. Herein lies the volume’s most significant contribution: the authors demonstrate how societies and polities such as the UAE, Granada, Bosnia, and the United States draw upon his economic, sociological, and political insights.

“A key finding is that Ibn Khaldun should not be viewed only as a medieval Muslim historian but as an important contributor to the broader history of the social and human sciences,” explained Prof. Idriz. “By applying his ideas to historical and contemporary cases—including Granada, Bosnia, Sahrawi society, and the UAE—the volume demonstrates that his intellectual framework can still contribute to discussions about governance, social cohesion, diversity, economic development, and civilizational change.”

The contributions in the volume demonstrate practical applications through contemporary case studies, particularly in the UAE, “where Ibn Khaldun’s ideas are applied to questions of tolerance, social integration, institutional development, and sustainable governance.”

“The practical message is that classical intellectual heritage does not have to remain confined to historical study; it can provide useful perspectives for addressing present-day questions of governance, social cohesion, education, cultural change, and development.”

Ibn Khaldun today

The volume demonstrates that Ibn Khaldun’s ideas remain remarkably relevant more than six centuries after he wrote the Muqaddimah. It examines how his concepts of umran (civilization) and aṣabiyyah (social cohesion) continue to inform policymakers, statesmen, political scientists, sociologists, economists, and historians seeking to understand the development of societies and the forces that shape political authority, economic life, education, social solidarity, and the rise and decline of civilizations.

“Ibn Khaldun viewed society as an interconnected system rather than as separate political, economic, or social problems,” said Anja Zalta, Professor of Sociology of Religion at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, and lead editor. “The studies in this volume show that his thinking can be applied to very different societies and periods, including contemporary contexts.”

“In simple terms, Ibn Khaldun’s work reminds us that a successful civilization depends not only on wealth or political power but also on cooperation, social trust, effective institutions, education, and the ability of societies to adapt and renew themselves.”

One practical implication of the volume is that the concepts the contributors bring to the fore can serve as analytical tools for understanding present-day social and institutional challenges. They can help policymakers and institutions think more critically about community solidarity, leadership, institutional stability, taxation, economic development, education, and the management of social diversity.

While the contributors do not document specific partnerships with industry or commercial organizations, they present case studies demonstrating how Ibn Khaldun’s ideas continue to influence contemporary life.

Modern challenges vis-à-vis classical thought

According to Prof. Zalta, the volume’s most significant broader engagement is with cultural, governmental, and public-policy concerns. “The contributions connect Ibn Khaldun’s intellectual legacy with practical questions facing modern societies, showing how classical intellectual heritage can inform current discussions about governance, education, economic development, cultural change, and social integration.”

While the contributors do not overstate this dimension of their findings, they point to a promising avenue to enhance Ibn Khaldun’s place within global intellectual and social-scientific history.

“Rather than studying him mainly in comparison with later Western thinkers, future scholarship can examine his intellectual framework on its own terms and bring it into dialogue with contemporary social sciences,” noted Prof. Zalta. “This would encourage more interdisciplinary and comparative studies and further demonstrate how Islamic intellectual heritage can contribute to addressing questions facing societies in the twenty-first century.”

The volume goes beyond an exercise in historical scholarship. It offers both scholars and general readers an opportunity to rethink some of the most pressing questions Ibn Khaldun raised in his Muqaddimah and to consider their relevance to contemporary challenges.

Despite its theoretical approach, the volume connects Ibn Khaldun’s ideas with some contemporary institutions and social challenges. Several chapters examine the UAE and how the country draws on some of Ibn Khaldun’s concepts to illuminate institutional development, social cohesion, tolerance, diversity management, and sustainable governance.

Prof. Idriz noted, “This creates potential interest for government institutions, cultural institutions, policy bodies, and organizations concerned with social development.”

The chapters in the volume steer clear of heaping praise on Ibn Khaldun and his Muqaddimah, and it is not clear whether they accept Toynbee’s characterization of it as the greatest work in the philosophy of history. However, the authors leave little doubt that the Muqaddimah, though written more than six centuries ago, remains one of the most fertile sources of reflection on the birth, development, rise, and decline of societies and civilizations.