Reassessing Makkah's Pre-Modern Urban Fabric: A Critical Analysis Through Ibn Khaldun Lens

Abstract

This paper critically re-evaluates the existing scholarship on the pre-modern urban development of Makkah, arguing that the scholarly reliance on descriptive historiography, travelogues, and potentially biased Orientalist interpretations offers an insufficient understanding of the city's complex socio-spatial formation. To address this limitation, the study proposes a novel analytical framework grounded in the intellectual legacy of Ibn Khaldun. By emphasizing critical source evaluation and integrating historical and sociological perspectives, this framework enables a more nuanced examination of the intricate interplay between religious significance, social organization, cultural practices, and geographical constraints in shaping Makkah's distinctive urban fabric. Through a critical assessment of the existing literature and an application of the Ibn Khaldunian lens to historical accounts and archival evidence, this research aims to provide a deeper understanding of the forces that governed Makkah's pre-modern urban evolution. This approach offers significant implications for contemporary urban planning and development in Makkah, advocating for a holistic methodology that respects the city's profound historical and cultural context.