Ibn khaldun: Law and justice in the science of civilisation

Abstract

Islam and law are inextricably intertwined, and the law is religious law— shari’a. Thus, the study of law— fiqh —became a theological discipline. The concept of justice within the Islamic tradition is also indivisibly connected to revelation and the religious law. The philosophers within the Islamic tradition who explored justice have started from these premises. Therefore, the major classical divisions of philosophy do not easily fi t the way these philosophers approached the subject of law and justice. Nevertheless, it is possible to have a closer look at these concepts from a philosophical perspective. The aim of this paper is to do so through a study of the position(s) of Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406).