From Oral Tradition to Written History: Ibn Khaldun’s Method for Unveiling the Past

History is often told through stories passed down orally or preserved in written form. Ibn Khaldun, in his Muqaddimah, recognized the crucial interplay between these two modes of transmission. Oral traditions, vibrant and adaptive, carry the living memory of peoples but are subject to change and embellishment. Written records, while fixed, may contain errors or biases introduced by scribes or authors.

To navigate these complexities, Ibn Khaldun developed a methodical approach centered on personality criticism — evaluating the trustworthiness, character, and reliability of those who transmit oral reports. This scrutiny ensures that only credible accounts inform historical narratives.

He further advocated corroborating oral traditions with external evidence and conformity to known facts, employing analogy to interpret incomplete or obscure data. This juridical framework draws from Islamic legal principles, emphasizing reasoned judgment and evidence-based conclusions.

By integrating oral and written sources, Ibn Khaldun elevated history to a scientific discipline, capable of discerning truth from myth and constructing a coherent understanding of the past.

This methodological rigor remains foundational in modern historiography, underscoring the importance of source criticism and interdisciplinary analysis in unveiling historical realities.

Sources: Britannica on Ibn Khaldun 1 , Wikipedia overview 3 , EBSCO research starter 4