Muslim Contribution to the Science of Historiography: A Brief Survey

Science of historiography reflects the social, cultural and economic conditions of a society. Islam claims to work in the context of history. A remarkable testimony to the historical sense of the Muslims is their success in preserving the text of the Qur’an and ahadith of prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h). Islam is the only major religion of the history of mankind which was born and flourished under the light of history and Muslims are a people with a strong sense of history. Religion gave Muslims their historical sense. Hence historiography was to be approached with utmost sincerity. Muslim historiography informs us about our heritage, makes us conscious of links with the past, makes us aware of our origin, and provides us with a sense of direction for the future. Muslim period produced a galaxy of historians like al-Baladhuri, al-Tabari, al-Mas'udi, Ibn-al-Athir, Ya'qubi, Ibn Khallikan and Ibn Khaldun. The present paper will discuss the history consciousness among Muslims and their contributions in the field of historiography.