Ibn Khaldun on Value, Distribution and Growth: A Philological Reinterpretation of Economic Terms in <i>The Muqaddimah</i>

This research examines the ideological legacy of medieval Islamic scholarship in economic thought, through a detailed study of the 14th-century scholar Ibn Khaldun and his analysis of economic growth, value and distribution. Central to this study is The Muqaddimah, Ibn Khaldun’s major work, which is mostly read today through Franz Rosenthal’s English translation. However, this study argues that Rosenthal’s translation — especially specific economic terms and concepts — contains notable inconsistencies that cause misinterpretation of Khaldun’s ideas. Rather than assuming equivalence between Khaldun’s terminology and contemporary, widely accepted economic terms, this paper questions whether the translation introduces a level of abstraction not present in the original. For instance, the term ‘demand’ may reflect a modern analytical concept, whereas the original text may refer more broadly to basic human needs or wants. In such a case, is it appropriate to use the term ‘demand’? How else can we reinterpret this? To address these issues, the study undertakes a philological reinterpretation of The Muqaddimah, engaging directly with the Arabic text and consulting classical and contemporary lexical sources. This approach allows for a critical re-evaluation of the economic vocabulary in Rosenthal’s translation and contributes to a more context-sensitive understanding of Ibn Khaldun’s economic thought.