Abstract:

ʿUmrān is a concept that remains notional in secondary literature whose meaning is unclear, and it varies according to different approaches. In Turkish literature, this is generally met with “medeniyet” or “toplum”, while in English literature it is met with “civilisation”. Hadarī ʿumrān, on the other hand, is sometimes used in the sense of “settledness” as the opposite of Bedouin, and sometimes it is considered as “civilized life”. The reception made for these concepts, which Ibn Khaldun frequently uses, causes to be limited the depth of these concepts. Therefore, in order to prevent this, it will be emphasized that the concept is used in the sense of “social milieu”, away from material developments, by focusing on the place of the concept in the context. In this study, firstly, the adventure of the expression of civilisation in the historical process, in which ʿumrān is generally met, will be examined, and then a different perspective will be developed on how Ibn Khaldun developed an understanding of ʿumrān within the context. Finally, the relation of ʿumrān with many issues such as religion, state, society, history, reason and science will be discussed. For this purpose, both the literature in question and Ibn Khaldun's approaches to the issue will be based on how the concept of ʿumrān is received in Turkish and English literature and how the concept of civilization developed by the West limits this concept.

Keywords: