The Muqaddimah is a book written by Ibn Khaldun in 1377 AD as an introduction to his monumental work entitled Kitab al-Ibar (The Book of Lessons, also known as Kitab al-Ibar, and Diwan al-Mubtada' wa al-Khabar fi Ayyam al-Arab wa al-Ajam wa al-Barbar wa man `Asarahum min Dhat al-Sultan al-Akbar). The Muqaddimah was later considered a separate work with an encyclopedic character, covering all fields of knowledge, including Islamic law, history, geography, economics, urban planning, sociology, politics, and medicine. It addressed human conditions, the differences in their natures, and the environment and its impact on humans. It also studied the development of nations and peoples, the rise of the state, and the reasons for its collapse, focusing on the concept of tribalism. With this book, Ibn Khaldun preceded other thinkers in many views and ideas, and is considered the founder of sociology, preceding the French philosopher Auguste Comte.

The introduction can be summarized as a set of theories and foundations established by Ibn Khaldun, making him the true founder of sociology, contrary to what Western scholars claim, namely that the true founder was the Frenchman Auguste Comte. By reading the introduction, three basic concepts can be established that confirm this: In his introduction, Ibn Khaldun demonstrated that human societies proceed according to specific laws, and these laws allow for a degree of prediction of the future if properly studied and understood. He also argued that this science (the science of urbanism, as he called it) is not affected by individual events, but rather by societies as a whole. Finally, Ibn Khaldun asserted that these laws can be applied to societies living in different eras, provided that the structures are consistent across them all. For example, an agricultural society is the same agricultural society 100 years later, or within the same era. Thus, Ibn Khaldun established the true foundations of sociology. He is considered the founder of sociology and the first to establish it on its modern foundations. He developed brilliant theories in this field regarding the laws of urbanism, the theory of tribalism, the construction of the state, and the stages of its rise and fall. His views and theories preceded the findings of several centuries later by a number of famous scientists, such as the French scientist Auguste Comte.