IBN Khalidoon

Contents: About this book. Preface. 1. A portrait of the age of Ibn Khalidoon. 2. His life and education. 3. His character. 4. His knowledge and literary powers. 5. His works. 6. A new method in writing history. 7. Natural environment moulds the national character. 8. Social factors and the rise of nations. 9. Ibn Khalidoon\'s ideas ahead of the west. 10. Western views of Ibn Khalidoon\'s intellectual. 11. Ibn Khalidoon, the philosophical heritage educationalist. 12. The aims of Islamic education. 13. The methods of Islamic education. 14. Ibn Khalidoon\'s view of school curricula. 15. Ibn Khalidoon\'s view on general instruction. 16. Acquaintance with the art of teaching is a necessity imposed by the educational act. 17. Methods of teaching. 18. Gradualness and repetition. 19. Means of illustration. 20. Do not put the cart before the horse. 21. The necessity of continuity. 22. One subject at a time. 23. The Quran should not be taught until the child has acquired a certain degree of intelligence. 24. Avoiding summaries in education. 25. Punishment as an incentive to learning is the last resort for the teacher. 26. The importance of moral education. 27. Learning is a social process. 28. Teaching the subject in the mother tongue. 29. The transfer of training. 30. How the student excels in learning the language.

"Ibn Khalidoon, the fourteenth century father of modern historiography and sociology, is a great name in the history of human culture. Muslims and Non-Muslims alike have paid homage to the great heritage left by him. Of his famous Prolegomena (Muqaddima) Professor Arnold Toynbee in his: A study of history, III, P. 332. (London: Oxford University Press, 1935) says: "It is the greatest work of its kind that has yet been created by any mind in any time or place".

A remarkable man such as Ibn Khalidoon deserves more of our attention than has already been given to him. The present account of his life and work can only serve as a reminder that Ibn Khalidoon should be thoroughly studied by Muslim scholars all over the world.

As a philosopher, historian, educationist, writer, diplomat, and politician he commands respect and honour, judged even by modern standards."