Ibn Khaldūn or Ibn Khaldoun (full name, Arabic: ابو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون ‎, Abū Zayd ‘Abdu r-Raḥman bin Muḥammad bin Khaldūn) (May 27, 1332 AD/732 AH – March 19, 1406 AD/808 AH), was a famous historian, scholar, theologian, and statesman born in present-day Tunisia.^[1] He is considered the forerunner of several social scientific disciplines: demography,^[2] cultural history,^[3] historiography,^[4] the philosophy of history,^[5] sociology,^[2][5][6] and modern economics.^[7][8] He is sometimes considered to be a “father” of these disciplines, or even the social sciences in general,^[9] for anticipating many elements of these disciplines centuries before they were founded. He is best known for his Muqaddimah (known as Prolegomenon in Greek), the first volume of his book on universal history, Kitab al-Ibar.

Biography

Ibn Khaldun’s life is relatively well-documented, as he wrote an autobiography التعريف بإبن خلدون ورحلته غربا وشرقا (Al-Taʕrīf bi Ibn-Khaldūn wa Riħlatuhu Gharbān wa Sharqān, published by Muħammad ibn-Tāwīt at-Tanjī, Cairo 1951) in which numerous documents regarding his life are quoted word-for-word. However, the autobiography has little to say about his private life, so that little is known about his family background. Generally known as “Ibn Khaldūn” after a remote ancestor, he was born in Tunis in 1332 C.E. (732 A.H.) into an upper-class Andalusian family, the Banū Khaldūn. His family, which held many high offices in Andalusia, had emigrated to Tunisia after the fall of Seville to Reconquista forces around the middle of the 13th century. Under the Tunisian Hafsid dynasty some of his family held political office; Ibn Khaldūn’s father and grandfather however withdrew from political life and joined a mystical order.

In his autobiography, Ibn Khaldun traces his descent back to the time of Muhammad through an Arab tribe from Yemen, specifically the Hadhramaut, which came to Spain in the eighth century at the beginning of the Islamic conquest. In his own words: “And our ancestry is from Hadhramaut, from the Arabs of Yemen, via Wa’il ibn Hajar, from the best of the Arabs, well-known and respected.” (p. 2429, Al-Waraq’s edition). However, the biographer Mohammad Enan questions his claim, suggesting that his family may have been Berbers who pretended to be of Arab origin in order to gain social status.^[10] According to Muhammad Hozien, “The false [Berber] identity would be valid however at the time that Ibn Khaldun’s ancestors left Andalusia and moved to Tunisia they did not change their claim to Arab ancestry. Even in the times when Berbers were ruling, the reigns of Al-Marabats and al-Mowahids, et al. The Ibn Khalduns did not reclaim their Berber heritage.”^[11] This would lend credence to his claim of Arab origin.

Education

His family’s high rank enabled Ibn Khaldun to study with the best North African teachers of the time. He received a classical Arabic education, studying the Qur’an and Arabic linguistics, the basis for an understanding of the Qur’an, hadith, and fiqh. The mystic, mathematician and philosopher Al-Abili introduced him to mathematics, logic and philosophy, where he above all studied the works of Averroes, Avicenna, Razi and al-Tusi. At the age of 17, Ibn Khaldūn lost both his parents to an epidemic of the plague which hit Tunis.

Following family tradition, Ibn Khaldūn strove for a political career. In the face of a tumultuous political situation in North Africa, this required a high degree of skill developing and dropping alliances prudently, to avoid falling with the short-lived regimes of the time. Ibn Khaldūn’s autobiography is the story of an adventure, in which he spends time in prison, reaches the highest offices and falls again into exile.

Early years in Tunis and Granada

At the age of 20, he began his political career at the Chancellery of the Tunisian ruler Ibn Tafrakin with the position of Kātib al-’Alāmah, which consisted of writing in fine calligraphy the typical introductory notes of official documents. In 1352, Abū Ziad, the Sultan of Constantine, marched on Tunis and defeated it. Ibn Khaldūn, in any case unhappy with his respected but politically meaningless position, followed his teacher Abili to Fez. Here the Marinid sultan Abū Inan Fares I appointed him as a writer of royal proclamations, which didn’t prevent Ibn Khaldūn from scheming against his employer. In 1357 this brought the 25-year-old a 22-month prison sentence. Upon the death of Abū Inan in 1358, the vizier al-Hasān ibn-Umar granted him freedom and reinstated him in his rank and offices. Ibn Khaldūn then schemed against Abū Inan’s successor, Abū Salem Ibrahim III, with Abū Salem’s exiled uncle, Abū Salem. When Abū Salem came to power, he gave Ibn Khaldūn a ministerial position, the first position which corresponded with Ibn Khaldūn’s ambitions.

The treatment Ibn Khaldun received after the fall of Abū Salem through Ibn-Amar ʕAbdullah, a friend of Ibn Khaldūn’s, was not to his liking, he received no significant official position. At the same time, Amar successfully prevented Ibn Khaldūn – whose political skills he was well aware of – from allying with the Abd al-Wadids in Tlemcen. Ibn Khaldūn therefore decided to move to Granada. He could be sure of a positive welcome there, since at Fez he had helped the Sultan of Granada, the Nasrid Muhammad V, regain power from his temporary exile. In 1364 Muhammad entrusted him with a diplomatic mission to the King of Castile, Pedro the Cruel, to endorse a peace treaty. Ibn Khaldūn successfully carried out this mission, and politely declined Pedro’s offer to remain at his court and have his family’s Spanish possessions returned to him.

In Granada, Ibn Khaldūn quickly came into competition with Muhammad’s vizier, Ibn al-Khatib, who saw the close relationship between Muhammad and Ibn Khaldūn with increasing mistrust. Ibn Khaldūn tried to shape the young Muhammad into his ideal of a wise ruler, an enterprise which Ibn al-Khatib thought foolish and a danger to peace in the country – and history proved him right. At al-Khatib’s instigation, Ibn Khaldūn was eventually sent back to North Africa. Al-Khatib himself was later accused by Muhammad of having unorthodox philosophical views, and murdered, despite an attempt by Ibn Khaldūn to intercede on behalf of his old rival.

In his autobiography, Ibn Khaldūn tells us little about his conflict with Ibn al-Khatib and the reasons for his departure. The orientalist Muhsin Mahdi interprets this as showing that Ibn Khaldūn later realised that he had completely misjudged Muhammad V.

Back in Africa, the Hafsid sultan of Bougie, Abū ʕAbdallāh, (who had been his companion in prison) received him with great enthusiasm, and made Ibn Khaldūn his prime minister. During this period, Ibn Khaldūn carried out a daring mission to collect taxes among the local Berber tribes. After the death of Abū ʕAbdallāh in 1366, Ibn Khaldūn changed sides once again and allied himself with the ruler of Tlemcen, Abū l-Abbas. A few years later he was taken prisoner by ʕAbdu l-Azīz, who had defeated the sultan of Tlemcen and seized the throne. He then entered a monastic establishment, and occupied himself with scholastic duties, until in 1370 he was sent for to Tlemcen by the new sultan. After the death of ʕAbdu l-Azīz, he resided at Fez, enjoying the patronage and confidence of the regent.

Ibn Khaldūn’s political skills, above all his good relationship with the wild Berber tribes, were in high demand among the North African rulers, whereas he himself began to tire of politics and constant switching of allegiances. In 1375, sent by Abū Hammu, the ʕAbdu l Wadid Sultan of Tlemcen, on a mission to the Dawadida tribes, Ibn Khaldūn sought refuge with one of the Berber tribes, the Awlad Arif of central Algeria, in the town of Qalat Ibn Salama. He lived there for over three years under their protection, taking advantage of his seclusion to write the Muqaddimah “Prolegomena”, the introduction to his planned history of the world. In Ibn Salama, however, he lacked the necessary texts to complete the work. As a result, in 1378, he returned to his native Tunis, which in the mean time had been conquered by Abū l-Abbas, who took Ibn Khaldūn back into his service. There he devoted himself almost exclusively to his studies and completed his history of the world. His relationship with Abū l-Abbas remained strained, as the latter questioned his loyalty. This was brought into sharp contrast after Ibn Khaldūn presented him with a copy of the completed history omitting the usual panegyric to the ruler. Under pretence of going on the Hajj to Mecca – something a Muslim ruler could not simply refuse permission for – Ibn Khaldūn was able to leave Tunis and sail to Alexandria.

 Last years in Egypt

Ibn Khaldun has said of Egypt, “He who has not seen it does not know the power of Islam.” While other Islamic regions had to cope with border wars and inner strife, under the Mamluks Egypt experienced a period of economic prosperity and high culture. However, even in Egypt, where Ibn Khaldūn lived out his days, he could not stay out of politics completely. In 1384 the Egyptian Sultan, al-Malik udh-Dhahir Barquq, made him Professor of the Qamhiyyah Madrasah, and grand Qadi (supreme judge) of the Maliki school of fiqh or religious law (one of four schools, the Maliki school was widespread primarily in West Africa). His efforts at reform encountered resistance, however, and within a year he had to resign his judgeship. A contributory factor to his decision to resign may have been the heavy personal blow that struck him in 1384, when a ship carrying his wife and children sank off the coast of Alexandria. Ibn Khaldun now decided to complete the pilgrimage to Mecca after all.

After his return in May 1388, Ibn Khaldūn concentrated more strongly on a purely educational function at various Cairo madrasas. At court he fell out of favor for a time, as during revolts against Barquq he had – apparently under duress – together with other Cairo jurists issued a Fatwa against Barquq. Later relations with Barquq returned to normal, and he was once again named the Maliki qadi. Altogether he was called six times to this high office, which for various reasons he never held long.

In 1401, under Barquq’s successor, his son Faraj, Ibn Khaldūn took part in a military campaign against the Mongol conqueror Timur, who besieged Damascus. Ibn Khaldūn cast doubt upon the viability of the venture and didn’t really want to leave Egypt. His doubts were vindicated, as the young and inexperienced Faraj, concerned about a revolt in Egypt, left his army to its own devices in Syria and hurried home. Ibn Khaldūn remained at the besieged city for seven weeks, being lowered over the city wall by ropes in order to negotiate with Timur, in a historic series of meetings which he reports extensively in his autobiography. Timur questioned him in detail about conditions in the lands of the Maghreb; at his request, Ibn Khaldūn even wrote a long report about it. As he recognized the intentions behind this, he did not hesitate, on his return to Egypt, to compose an equally extensive report on the history of the Tartars, together with a character study of Timur, sending these to the Merinid rulers in Fez.

Ibn Khaldūn spent the following five years in Cairo completing his autobiography and his history of the world and acting as teacher and judge. During this time he also formed an all male club named Rijal Hawa Rijal. Their activities attracted the attention of local religious authorities and he was placed under arrest.

He died on 17 March 1406, one month after his sixth selection for the office of the Maliki qadi.

Ibn Khaldūn has left behind few works other than his history of the world, al-Kitābu l-ʕibār. Significantly, such writings are not alluded to in his autobiography, suggesting perhaps that Ibn Khaldūn saw himself first and foremost as a historian and wanted to be known above all as the author of al-Kitābu l-ʕibār. From other sources we know of several other works, primarily composed during the time he spent in North Africa and Spain. His first book, Lubābu l-Muhassal, a commentary on the theology of al-Razi, was written at the age of 19 under the supervision of his teacher al-Ābilī in Tunis. A work on Sufism, Sifā’u l-Sā’il, was composed around 1373 in Fes, Morocco. Whilst at the court of Muhammed V, Sultan of Granada, Ibn Khaldūn composed a work on logic, ʕallaqa li-l-Sultān.

The Kitābu l-ʕibār (full title: Kitābu l-ʕibār wa Diwānu l-Mubtada’ wa l-Ħabar fī Ayyāmu l-ʕarab wa l-Ājam wa l-Barbar wa man ʕĀsarahum min ĐawIu s-Sultānu l-Akbār “Book of Evidence, Record of Beginnings and Events from the Days of the Arabs, Persians and Berbers and their Powerful Contemporaries“), Ibn Khaldūn’s main work, was originally conceived as a history of the Berbers. Later, the focus was widened so that in its final form (including its own methodology and anthropology), it represents a so-called “universal history“. It is divided into seven books, the first of which, the Muqaddimah, can be considered a separate work. Books two to five cover the history of mankind up to the time of Ibn Khaldūn. Books six and seven cover the history of the Berber peoples and of the Maghreb, which for the present-day historian represent the real value of the Al-Kitābu l-ʕibār, as they are based on Ibn Khaldūn’s personal knowledge of the Berbers.^[12]

Concerning the discipline of sociology it is interesting to note that he conceived of a theory of social conflict. He developed the dichotomy of “town” versus “desert,” as well as the concept of a “generation,” and the inevitable loss of power that occurs when desert warriors conquer a city. Following a contemporary Arab scholar, Sati’ al-Husri, it can be suggested that the Muqaddimah is essentially a sociological work; six books of general sociology. Dealt with topics include politics, urban life, economics, and knowledge. The work is based around Ibn Khaldun’s central concept of ‘asabiyyah, which has been translated as “social cohesion“, “group solidarity”, “blood ties,” or “tribalism.” This social cohesion arises spontaneously in tribes and other small kinship groups; and it can be intensified and enlarged by a religious ideology. Ibn 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 (or at least younger and more vigorous) cohesion.

Perhaps the most frequently cited observation drawn from Ibn Khaldūn’s work is the notion that when a society becomes a great civilization (and, presumably, the dominant culture in its region), its high point is followed by a period of decay. This means that the next cohesive group that conquers the diminished civilization is, by comparison, a group of barbarians. Once the barbarians solidify their control over the conquered society, however, they become attracted to its more refined aspects, such as literacy and arts, and either assimilate into or appropriate such cultural practices. Then, eventually, the former barbarians will be conquered by a new set of barbarians, who will repeat the process. Some contemporary readers of Khaldun have read this as an early business cycle theory, though set in the historical circumstances of the mature Islamic empire.

Interesting also is the precursor to Marx’s labour theory of value in Ibn Khaldun’s work. Ibn Khaldun puts forward the insight that all value (profit) comes from labour as Marx was later to write. He outlines an early (possibly even the earliest) example of political economy. He describes the economy as being composed of value adding processes, that is labour is added to techniques and crafts and the product is sold at a higher value. This is a powerful insight as one can construct an entire theory of the economy from this fundamental process and inform government policy. He also made the distinction between “profit” and “sustenance”, in modern political economy terms, surplus and that required for the reproduction of classes respectively. He also calls for the creation of a science to explain society and goes on to outline these ideas in his major work the Muqaddimah.

 Legacy

• British historian Arnold J. Toynbee called the Muqaddimah “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.”^[13]

• The British philosopher Robert Flint wrote the following on Ibn Khaldun: “As a theorist on history he had no equal in any age… Plato, Aristotle and Augustine were not his peers.”^[13]

• Abderrahmane Lakhsassi writes: “No historian of the Maghreb since and particularly of the Berbers can do without his historical contribution.”

• The British philosopher-anthropologist Ernest Gellner considered Ibn Khaldun’s definition of government, “an institution which prevents injustice other than such as it commits itself”, the best in the history of political theory.^[14]

• In 2006, Spain commemorated the 600th anniversary since the death of Ibn Khaldun.[1]

Bibliography

• Fuad Baali. 2005 The science of human social organization : Conflicting views on Ibn Khaldun’s (1332-1406) Ilm al-umran. Mellen studies in sociology. Lewiston/NY: Edwin Mellen Press.
• J. D. C. Boulakia, (1971). Ibn Khaldoun: A fourteenth-century economist, J. Politic. Econ., 79, pp. 105-18.
• Walter Fischel. 1967 Ibn Khaldun in Egypt : His public functions and his historical research, 1382-1406; a study in Islamic historiography. Berkeley: University of California Press.
• Ibn Khaldun. 1951 التعريف بإبن خلدون ورحلته غربا وشرقا Al-Taʕrīf bi Ibn-Khaldūn wa Riħlatuhu Gharbān wa Sharqān. Published by Muħammad ibn-Tāwīt at-Tanjī. Cairo (Autobiography in Arabic).
• Ibn Khaldūn. 1958 The Muqaddimah : An introduction to history. Translated from the Arabic by Franz Rosenthal. 3 vols. New York: Princeton.
• Ibn Khaldūn. 1967 The Muqaddimah : An introduction to history. Trans. Franz Rosenthal, ed. N.J. Dawood. (Abridged).
• Mahmoud Rabi’. 1967 The political theory of Ibn Khaldun. Leiden: E.J. Brill.
• Róbert Simon. 2002 Ibn Khaldūn : History as science and the patrimonial empire. Translated by Klára Pogátsa. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó. Original edition, 1999.

References

1. ^ Marvin E. Gettleman and Stuart Schaar (2003), The Middle East and Islamic World Reader, p. 54, Grove Press, ISBN 0802139361.
2. ^ ^{a b} H. Mowlana (2001). “Information in the Arab World”, Cooperation South Journal 1.
3. ^ Mohamad Abdalla (Summer 2007). “Ibn Khaldun on the Fate of Islamic Science after the 11th Century”, Islam & Science 5 (1), p. 61-70.
4. ^ Salahuddin Ahmed (1999). A Dictionary of Muslim Names. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. ISBN 1850653569.
5. ^ ^{a b} Dr. S. W. Akhtar (1997). “The Islamic Concept of Knowledge”, Al-Tawhid: A Quarterly Journal of Islamic Thought & Culture 12 (3).
6. ^ Amber Haque (2004), “Psychology from Islamic Perspective: Contributions of Early Muslim Scholars and Challenges to Contemporary Muslim Psychologists”, Journal of Religion and Health 43 (4): 357-377 [375].
7. ^ I. M. Oweiss (1988), “Ibn Khaldun, the Father of Economics”, Arab Civilization: Challenges and Responses, New York University Press, ISBN 0887066984.
8. ^ Jean David C. Boulakia (1971), “Ibn Khaldun: A Fourteenth-Century Economist”, The Journal of Political Economy 79 (5): 1105-1118.
9. ^ Akbar Ahmed (2002). “Ibn Khaldun’s Understanding of Civilizations and the Dilemmas of Islam and the West Today”, Middle East Journal 56 (1), p. 25.
10. ^ A., Ibn Khaldun: His life and Works for Mohammad Enan
11. ^ IBN KHALDUN: His Life and Work by Muhammad Hozien
12. ^ It should be noted that recently there has been a tendency to modify this view. Ibn Khaldun relied not just on his own research, but for the history of the Berber tribes utilized a large number of written sources including many of poor quality (e.g. the Rawd al-Qirtas). He has been criticised for often presenting only a synthesis of multiple (sometimes contradictory) sources where a more careful historian such as ar-Raqiq or al-Maliki would always give the original texts before pronouncing an opinion. See articles by Modéran and Benabbès in Identités et Cultures dans l’Algérie Antique, University of Rouen, 2005 (ISBN 2-87775-391-3). This criticism applies only to his factual work, not to the theoretical parts like the Muqaddimah
13. ^ ^{a b} Encyclopædia Britannica, 15th ed., vol. 9, p. 148.
14. ^ Ernest Gellner, Plough, Sword and Book (1988), p. 239

( Source :  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Khaldun )

Kamus Dewan (2000) mendefinisikan ’budaya’ sebagai tamadun , peradaban , kemajuan fikiran , akal budi , cara berfikir atau cara berkelakuan .

Wikipedia Indonesia pula menyatakan bahawa perkataan ’budaya’ sebenarnya berasal dari bahasa Sanskrit yang bermakna hal-hal yang berkaitan dengan budi dan akal manusia , atau sebuah sistem pengetahuan yang meliputi sistem idea manusia yang mana idea tersebut diamalkannya sehari-hari .

Perkataan  ’ilmu’ pula memiliki definisi yang sangat luas dan susah untuk didefinisikan . Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas berpendapat bahawa ilmu itu sendiri sebenarnya tidak bersifat neutral , budaya yang berbeza memiliki konsep yang juga berbeza mengenai ilmu walaupun ada persamaan mengenainya . Terdapat perbezaan yang ketara dan tidak seiring mengenai konsep ilmu di antara budaya Islam dan juga Barat . (Wan Mohd. Nor, 1998)

Al-Ghazali di dalam kitabnya Ihya ’Ulum al-Din mendefinisikankan ’ilmu’ itu kepada daya membuat generalisasi , konsepsi terhadap idea-idea yang abstrak dan keupayaan memperoleh kebenaran intelektual . (Hamid Fahmy Zarkasyi , 1990)

Maka ’budaya ilmu’ yakni apabila kedua-dua konsep budaya dan ilmu digabungkan boleh diertikan sebagai segala aktiviti keilmuan yang dilaksanakan oleh setiap anggota masyarakat dan diterima sebagai nilaitara utama dalam amalan mereka . (Mok Soon Sang , 2000)

PEMBANGUNAN TAMADUN MANUSIA BERTERASKAN  BUDAYA ILMU

Sejarah telah mengajar kita melalui berbagai peristiwa penting yang sekaligus membuktikan bahawa golongan manusia yang tamadunnya tinggi adalah bersendikan kepada budaya intelektual yang tinggi dalam zaman mereka .

Golongan manusia yang hanya mempunyai kekuatan bersifat fizikal seperti tenaga manusia atau kekuatan ketenteraan sebenarnya bukanlah menonjolkan sebuah kekuatan hakiki tetapi berpandukan dari sejarah tamadun manusia , seringkali kita saksikan bahwa sesebuah bangsa yang kuat tetapi tidak diasaskan oleh budaya ilmu yang baik , akan memeluk dan menganut nilai dan ciri tamadun lain yang ditaklukinya itu  (Wan Mohd. Nor,1997)

Antara contoh bersejarah yang dapat diambil ialah seperti golongan Mongol yang telah menyerang Baghdad , menjatuhkan Dinasti Abbasiyah dan seterusnya merosakkan sumber-sumber keilmuan dan tamadun Islam yang sekaligus paling menyedihkan dalam sejarah (Mahayudin Hj Yahaya dan Ahmad Jelani Halimi,1996) kemudiannya telah memeluk Islam dan melahirkan generasi Islam baharu di Turki , China dan Rusia pada hari ini (Wan Mohd. Nor,1997)

Kejayaan intelektual dan peradaban tinggi yang dicapai oleh kaum-kaum Yunani , Yahudi , China , India dan umat Islam di zaman silam serta betapa canggihnya pencapaian sains dan teknologi negara-negara Barat pada hari ini juga adalah bukti nyata di mana sesebuah golongan manusia itu jika ilmu dan budaya ke arahnya dimartabatkan di kedudukan yang tinggi di dalam masyarakat mereka .

Zaman Yunani kuno telah melahirkan ramai ilmuan terkenal seperti Socrates , Plato dan juga Aristotle yang banyak mempelopori ilmu falsafah , logik serta geometri . Albert Einstein , Karl Marx dan Sigmund Freud dilihat sebagai diantara tokoh intelektual berketurunan Yahudi yang berpengaruh besar di dalam pelbagai bidang keilmuan moden . Mazhab Konfuciunisme Baru yang mewarnai tamadun China klasik di mana kecenderungan amali telah memberi sumbangan besar kepada manusia sejagat melalui penghasilan kertas , sutera , percetakan , kompas serta ubat meriam . Budaya India Kuno pula yang lebih memberikan penekanan kepada ilmu yang paling abstrak telah memberikan sumbangan bernilai terhadap bidang astronomi , geometri serta perubatan . Fenomena budaya ilmu itu mula berubah apabila agama Kristian yang menguasai negara-negara Barat pada Zaman Pertengahan telah menyebabkan ilmu itu sendiri telah diilhami oleh semangat sekular sekaligus mempengaruhi setiap aspek kehidupan dan pemikiran manusia moden hari ini . (Wan Mohd. Nor, 1997)

BUDAYA ILMU DI DALAM AGAMA ISLAM

Dr. Hasan Langgulung (1979) berpendapat bahawa dengan turunnya ayat al-Quran yang pertama di Gua Hira kepada baginda Rasulullah s.a.w adalah tanda akan bangkitnya satu peradaban baru di dunia .

Ini kerana apabila manusia itu disuruh membaca (Surah al-’Alaq :1-5) maka proses “membaca” itu sendiri akan melibatkan berbagai proses mental yang tinggi seperti proses pengenalan (cognition) , ingatan atau hafalan (memory) , pengamatan (perception) , pengucapan (verbalizing) , pemikiran (reasoning) serta daya cipta (creativity).

Jika dilihat dari segi psikologi , proses pembacaan itu sendiri akan melibatkan keseluruhan struktur mental manusia itu sebagai kecerdasan seseorang individu (intellegence) . Dari aspek sosial pula proses pembacaan tadi akan menghubungkan perasaan , pemikiran dan tingkahlaku seseorang manusia kepada manusia yang lain . Pembacaan yang terhasil dari simbol yang dapat dibaca iaitu tulisan akan menjadi alat sistem perhubungan yang akan mewujudkan suatu sistem sosial , di samping penggunaan bahasa itu sendiri akan dijadikan sebagai gudang (storage) tempat penyimpanan nilai-nilai budaya yang akan berpindah dari satu generasi ke generasi selanjutnya .

Perubahan sikap individu yang suka membaca atau aktiviti ke arah keilmuan ini akan menular kepada keluarga individu tersebut dan seterusnya akan menular lagi ke dalam masyarakat . (Hasan Langgulung , 1979)

Daripada impak pembacaan , oleh kerana manusia dikurniakan akal maka manusia akan memikirkan apa yang dibacanya .

Adalah jelas di sini bahawa , al-Quranlah punca kepada proses keilmuan . Darinya akan lahirlah budaya keilmuan yang diamalkan oleh individu dan setiap anggota masyarakat dan menyebabkan perubahan tamadun manusia sekaligus punca tercetusnya pembangunan tamadun umat Islam .

Hasan Langgulung melihat terjadinya perkembangan dan tersiarnya kebudayaan Islam ke serata tempat adalah berpunca daripada agama Islam sendiri kerana Islam adalah agama yang pertama sekali mengakui bahawa setiap manusia itu berhak malah diperintahkan untuk menuntut ilmu pengetahuan dan mempelajari kemahiran-kemahiran mengikut kecenderungan masing-masing . (Hasan Langgulung , 1979)

Hal ini dimanifestasikan oleh baginda Rasulullah s.a.w apabila baginda mendirikan sebuah masjid yang pertama di dalam Islam iaitu Masjid Quba. Pembinaannya sama seperti pembinaan masjid-masjid lain iaitu bukanlah semata-mata untuk beribadah solat sahaja tetapi juga menjadi tempat pertemuan , perpaduan dan markaz yang strategik di mana umat Islam boleh berjumpa , berbincang dan mempelajari ilmu .(Kamarudin Ahmad dan Azman Md. Zain , 2002)

Di dalam masjid juga baginda akan mengajar dan memberi khutbah dalam bentuk halaqah di mana para sahabat akan duduk mengelilingi baginda untuk mendengar dan bersoal jawab berkaitan dengan urusan agama atau kehidupan seharian .

Berlainan dengan tamadun Kuno seperti China dan India , proses keilmuan hanya terbatas kepada golongan tertentu sahaja seperti golongan aristokrat , golongan lelaki sahaja atau khusus untuk golongan pendeta atau ahli agama (Wan Mohd Nor , 1997)

MASYARAKAT YANG BERBUDAYA ILMU

Sesebuah masyarakat yang mengamalkan budaya ilmu sudah setentunya akan memiliki beberapa ciri-ciri tertentu yang membezakan mereka dengan masyarakat yang tiada berkecenderungan terhadap aktiviti keilmuan .

Wan Mohd Nor (1997) antara lain menggariskan ciri-ciri tersebut adalah seperti ;

1. Penglibatan setiap ahli masyarakat di dalam kegiatan keilmuan
2. Tindakan manusia baik secara individu mahu pun di peringkat masyarakat , diputuskan dan dilaksanakan berdasarkan ilmu pengetahuan sama ada melalui pengkajian mahu pun syura .
3. Ilmu dianggap sebagai satu keutamaan tertinggi dalam sistem nilai peribadi dan masyarakat di setiap peringkat .
4. Individu dan institusi berpengaruh dalam masyarakat akan memberi keutamaan , bantuan , kemudahan , dan pengiktirafan yang tinggi kepada mana-mana pihak yang melibatkan diri di dalam usaha mencari dan menyebarkan ilmu pengetahuan
5. Dalam diri dan masyarakat , tidak akan mengiktiraf sifat jahil , bebal dan anti ilmu .
6. Dalam diri dan masyarakat yang berbudaya ilmu , akan menolak dan membenci pandangan , pernyataan , serta amalan yang tidak berasaskan ilmu dan kebenaran .
7. Budaya ilmu bukan sekadar kesungguhan memahami , mendalami dan menghayati sesuatu bidang ilmu tetapi lebih penting juga mampu menjelmakan sifat keilmuan dalam pelbagai bidang (multi-disciplinary) dan merentas bidang (inter-disciplinary) agar pemaduan ilmu dapat mewujudkan kepaduan diri dan masyarakat 

Justeru itu , Wan Mohd. Nor (1997) selanjutnya menambah bahawa masyarakat yang berbudaya ilmu seharusnya memiliki beberapa nilai tertentu , iaitu ;

1.      Kepentingan Ilmu

Masyarakat yang berbudaya ilmu akan menjadikan ilmu sebagai asas segala kebaikan. Ilmu yang dipelajari bukanlah tiket untuk mendapatkan kemewahan material , melahirkan pekerja yang cekap atau peluang untuk pekerjaan lumayan tetapi lebih kepada penanaman sikap untuk memuliakan ilmu dengan cara menuntutnya dan seterusnya menghayatinya seumur hidup .

Pendidikan menurut Ibnu Khaldun , dapat membantu individu dan masyarakat menuju kemajuan dan kecemerlangan . (Dr. Gamal Abdul Nasir Zakaria , 2003)

2.      Hasil Ilmiah Yang Berkekalan

Berkekalan di sini bermaksud bahawa sebarang usaha dan hasil yang berteraskan ilmiah itu seharusnya merupakan sumbangan dan amal kebajikan penting bagi diri sendiri dan juga manusia , dan sumbangan tersebut akan diberi ganjaran yang bersifat kekal .

Bagi ilmuan non-Muslim , mereka pasti mendapat kemasyhuran nama sepanjang zaman manakala bagi ilmuan Muslim pula percaya kepada ganjaran pahala amal jariah  di akhirat .

3.      Usaha Keilmuan Yang Berkekalan

Di dalam masyarakat yang berbudaya ilmu , anggota masyarakatnya perlu maklum bahawa pendidikan itu adalah proses pembelajaran sepanjang hayat yakni dari buaian hingga ke liang lahad .

4.      Hormat-Kritis Terhadap Ilmu

Masyarakat berbudaya ilmu juga mesti berani mencari kebenaran dan memperbaiki hasil pemikiran tokoh ilmuan terdahulu . Perkara ini dapat disaksikan melalui rentetan sejarah dimana Imam Syafi’i serta Imam Abu Hanifah pernah berguru dengan Imam Malik . Contoh lain pula Imam al-Ghazali mengkritik kekeliruan ahli falsafah Islam yang terpengaruh dengan unsur dan pemikir Yunani tetapi tetap mengakui sumbangan dan keagungan para pemikir Yunani tersebut .

5.      Kesinambungan Tradisi Keilmuan

Peka dan sedar betapa pentingnya kesinambungan atau sejarah ilmu  atau keilmuan juga sebuah nilai yang amat mustahak dimana ilmu itu sendiri tidak terbatas kadarnya serta manusia itu sendiri tidak akan dapat memikirkannya bermula dari titik kosong . Khazanah keilmuan generasi terdahulu dan juga semasa seharusnya diketahui dan seterusnya direkodkan .

6.      Kepimpinan

Masyarakat yang mahu memilih barisan para pemimpin mereka setentunya terlebih dahulu mesti memahami dan menghayati budaya ilmu itu sendiri sebelum menilai , memilih dan mengukuhkan pemimpin yang berilmu , adil , bijaksana , berwawasan jauh dan tegas . Ini juga bermakna , mana-mana individu atau kumpulan pemimpin yang mahu memimpin masyarakat , semestinya melengkapkan diri dengan ilmu-ilmu dasar dan kepakaran yang sentiasa dipertingkatkan dari masa ke semasa bersesuaian dengan keperluan zamannya .

7.      Bermusyawarah

Seseorang individu setentunya tidak akan dapat mengetahui semua perkara yang diperlukan untuk hidup secara sendirian apatah lagi sebagai sebuah masyarakat kerana ilmu bersifat tidak terbatas . Solusinya ialah dengan cara bermusyawarah. Ini kerana di samping proses itu sendiri merupakan suatu jelmaan ciri budaya ilmu , syura juga merupakan amalan Rasulullah saw dimana baginda sendiri seringkali bermusyawarah dengan para sahabatnya yang berwibawa dalam hal yang berkaitan dengan maslahat orang ramai serta seringkali juga menerima pandangan mereka  .

8.      Pengiktirafan Peranan Wanita

Wanita memang berperanan besar di dalam menentukan dan membina budaya ilmu dan ketinggian tamadun manusia . Zaman pramoden menyaksikan kaum wanita secara tidak rasmi telah berpengaruh besar di dalam peringkat rumahtangga khususnya mengenai urusan penerusan adat resam , penjagaan keluarga dan kemahiran hidup berkeluarga .

Ahli sejarah melihat pengabaian pendidikan kaum wanita seperti di dalam tamadun Yunani Kuno dilihat sebagai punca kepada kejatuhan tamadun masyarakat Yunani itu sendiri .

Agama Islam pula bersumberkan dari wahyu atau hadis , memerintahkan kepada kaum Muslimin , lelaki dan juga perempuan untuk sama-sama menuntut ilmu pengetahuan dan menjalankan tanggungjawab sebagai khalifah dan hamba Allah SWT di muka bumi ini . Isteri-isteri Rasulullah saw sendiri terutamanya Siti Aisyah adalah sumber rujukan para sahabat khususnya mengenai al-Quran , hadis , fekah selain syair , sejarah Arab , nasab keturunan (silsilah) dan juga perubatan .

Jelas di sini bahawa , kaum wanita memberi kesan kepada sesebuah institusi keluarga. Manakala kekeluargaan pula merupakan paksi kekuatan sesebuah masyarakat .(Hasan Langgulung ,1979)

CABARAN BUDAYA ILMU MASA KINI

Terdapat banyak cabaran yang perlu ditangani agar hasrat untuk mewujudkan sebuah masyarakat yang berbudaya ilmu pada zaman sekarang . Diantaranya ialah ;

1. Salahtanggap masyarakat terhadap ilmu

Masyarakat melayu silam melihat ”ilmu” dan usaha kearahnya itu hanya sebagai memenuhi kepada keperluan peribadatan sahaja . Contohnya mempelajari ilmu astronomi hanya untuk memastikan waktu-waktu solat atau ketibaan bulan-bulan penting sahaja . Ilmu matematik hanya khusus untuk mengira fidyah , zakat atau pembahagian harta pusaka (Wan Mohd. Nor Wan Daud,1997).

Masyarakat pada hari pula melihat aspek pendidikan sebagai syarat untuk lulus peperiksaan sekaligus sebagai tiket untuk mendapatkan pekerjaan yang lumayan , kurikulum yang tersedia juga kurang memberi peluang untuk para pelajar untuk berfikir secara aktif , ilmu itu juga telah disempitkan melalui pengkhususan dan pengelasan , ilmu tidak dapat kaitkan dengan iman dan amal serta terpinggirnya kesan ilmu terhadap aspek akhlak . (Dr. Tajul Ariffin Nordin dan Dr. Nor’Aini Dan,2002) Oleh itu , set minda masyarakat yang sempit yang berkemungkinan diakibatkan oleh pelbagai aspek seperti pengaruh sekularisme atau dualisme yang diperkenalkan oleh pentadbiran kolonial silam misalnya perlulah diubah melalui pendidikan Islam agar konsep ilmu yang luas dapat memberi impak yang sempurna kepada masyarakat .

1. Pengaruh berlebihan budaya korporat dan penswastaan terhadap ilmu dan sistem pendidikan. (Dr. Tajul Ariffin Nordin dan Dr. Nor’Aini Dan,2002)

Apabila manusia hanya asyik memikirkan keuntungan material sahaja dengan cara memperniagakan kegiatan intelektual secara komersial secara tidak langsung akan menyebabkan terpinggirnya budaya ilmu itu sendiri kerana ia sudah tidak lagi diasaskan oleh konsep ibadah dan keikhlasan

1. Tiada wujudnya kesinambungan usaha intelektual di alam karier .(Prof. Dr. Azyumardi,1999) . Usaha membuat kajian dan penyelidikan (research and development) di dalam sektor kerajaan serta swasta sebenarnya memberikan impak besar terhadap kemajuan negara . Tanpa adanya dapatan daripada penyelidikan dan kajian yang berterusan , produktiviti yang dikecapi hanyalah bersifat minima sahaja .
2. Institusi informal dan non-formal dalam masyarakat yang pincang .

Perkara ini dapat dilihat melalui kurangnya peranan ibu bapa yakni kekeluargaan di dalam budaya ilmu (M.Wasiullah Khan,1989)

Realiti zaman sekarang menyaksikan para ibu bapa kurang berperanan sebagai ejen sosialisasi dan role model penting kepada keluarga mereka . Hal ini sama sekali berbeza dengan masyarakat zaman silam yang tidak begitu terdedah dengan pengaruh negatif dari budaya luar kerana utuhnya sistem kekeluargaan yang rapat walaupun para ibu bapa selalunya tiada berpendidikan tinggi .

1. Kurangnya imbalan atau insentif pihak kerajaan kepada para ilmuan dan kegiatan intelektual .

Ibn Khaldun di dalam kitab Muqaddimahnya ada menceritakan tentang kepesatan dan kemajuan ilmiah yang dicapai oleh wilayah Islam semasa pemerintahan amir-amir Turki dimana sekolah-sekolah (zawiyah) dan wakaf-wakaf banyak didirikan sebagai industri pelaburan di mana keuntungan yang diperolehi akan digunakan sebagai upah dan insentif serta motivasi bagi para pendidik dan pelajar .

1. Kurangnya usaha mempublisitikan ilmu , tokoh keilmuan dan karya intelektual kepada masyarakat (Wan Mohd. Nor Wan Daud,1997) yang disebabkan oleh pendedahan berlebihan terhadap dunia hiburan dan sukan melalui media massa serta gadget elektronik .

1. Khazanah karya intelektual yang dilupakan .

Usaha mengkaji dan menyelidik karya-karya intelektual tokoh-tokoh keilmuan zaman silam perlulah dijalankan , diperkembangkan dan didedahkan kepada pelbagai lapisan masyarakat dari masa ke semasa agar segala pengajaran , nilai tujuan , kandungan dan kejayaan atau kegagalan para tokoh ilmuan tersebut dapat dimanfaatkan secara hormat-kritis (Wan Mohd. Nor Wan Daud,1997)  .

Berbalik kepada tema , konsep dan budaya ilmu ; apakah yang akan terjadi sekiranya masyarakat kita tidak berbudaya ilmu? Masyarakat yang tidak berbudaya ilmu pastinya akan berbudaya jahil atau bebal , bukan kerana ketiadaan maklumat atau fakta yang betul tetapi kerana rendahnya sifat rohaniah dan degil walaupun mempunyai maklumat yang betul dan cukup . (Wan Mohd. Nor Wan Daud,1997).

KESIMPULAN

Untuk memupuk kesedaran berbudaya ilmu di dalam masyarakat bukanlah satu impian yang terlalu ideal atau mustahil untuk dicapai . Ini kerana melalui pengalaman sejarah silam , generasi manusia terdahulu seperti masyarakat Yunani , China , India dan Islam sendiri pernah mencapainya di dalam pelbagai bidang keilmuan. Kecanggihan sains dan teknologi yang didominasi oleh negara-negara Barat dan negara Jepun moden sekarang ini adalah manifestasi dari budaya ilmu yang disemai di dalam masyarakat mereka .

Ibn Khaldun sendiri ada menyatakan bahawa ilmu pengetahuan dan pengajaran (ta’lim) merupakan hal semulajadi di dalam peradaban manusia . Jadi , tidak hairanlah bilamana tokoh itu tersebut pernah menyatakan bahawa sejarah jatuh bangun sesuatu bangsa berkaitan dengan budaya ilmu yang dihayatinya

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http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budaya . Diakses pada 05 hb Feb 2008