muqaddima

Muqaddima, also transliterated mukaddimah, is an Arabic term meaning introduction or preface. The word derives from the root q-d-m, meaning to go forward or precede, with the prefix mu- forming a noun that denotes what comes first. In practice, a muqaddima is the opening section of a scholarly or literary work, outlining aims, scope, methodology, and sometimes the author’s approach.

In the Islamic literary and scholarly tradition, muqaddimat (plural) appear in works across disciplines such as law, theology, philology, history, and science. They may function as substantial prefaces that frame the text, or—less commonly—be published as standalone treatises with the same name. The genre is a recognized and influential part of manuscript culture in the medieval and early modern Islamic world.

The most famous muqaddima is Ibn Khaldun’s Muqaddima (al-Muqaddimah), written around 1377 CE as the introduction to his universal history Kitāb al-ʿIbar. It is regarded as a foundational text in historiography and social theory, introducing concepts such as asabiyya (group solidarity), the cyclical rise and fall of civilizations, and an analytical method that considers climate, geography, economy, and institutions in shaping history.

Outside Ibn Khaldun, many scholars produced muqaddimat or preludes in Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Malay, and Indonesian literature. In these traditions, the term continues to denote the introductory portion of a work, or a separate introductory tract, and remains a common scholarly label for front matter and methodological expositions.