Q0217

“Man is a child of customs, not of his ancestors.” — Ibn Khaldun (Muqaddimah)

Verified English quotation. Primary source: Muqaddimah. Theme: society.

English

Man is a child of customs, not of his ancestors.
Thinker Ibn Khaldun
School Islamic Philosophy
Source Muqaddimah
Theme Society
Another quotation More from this thinker

Source and attribution

The archive attributes this English wording to Muqaddimah and files it under Islamic Philosophy. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.

About Ibn Khaldun

Ibn Khaldūn (1332–1406) served courts across the Maghrib and Egypt before composing the Muqaddimah as a prolegomenon to his universal history. Drawing on political experience, he treated history as a science of social causes rather than a chronicle of wonders.

How to read this passage

Social philosophy asks how individuals and collectives constitute each other, and what justice requires of shared life. This passage enters that discussion through society, time.

Concepts in this quote

Society
Society is the web of institutions, customs, and mutual expectations in which individual freedom takes shape.
Time
Philosophy of time asks what tense and duration are—and how memory, death, and history shape a human life.

How to cite this quotation

APA: Ibn Khaldun. (n.d.). Man is a child of customs, not of his ancestors. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0217

MLA: Ibn Khaldun. “Man is a child of customs, not of….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0217.

Chicago: Ibn Khaldun. “Man is a child of customs, not of….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0217.

Frequently asked questions

What is the source of the quotation “Man is a child of customs, not of…”?

The passage is attributed to Ibn Khaldun, Muqaddimah. The archive attributes this English wording to Muqaddimah and files it under Islamic Philosophy. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.

What does Ibn Khaldun mean by society?

Social philosophy asks how individuals and collectives constitute each other, and what justice requires of shared life. This passage enters that discussion through society, time.

Same thinker

More from Ibn Khaldun

  1. Royal authority and large-scale dynastic power are attained only through group feeling (ʿaṣabiyya).
  2. History is a discipline that has a large number of approaches. Its useful aspects are very many. Its goal is distinguished.
  3. The past resembles the future more than one drop of water another.
  4. When luxury and sedentary culture take hold, group feeling weakens and the dynasty declines.

All quotations by Ibn Khaldun

Same theme

More on society

  1. Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.
  2. Habit is the enormous fly-wheel of society, its most precious conservative agent.
  3. Study problems, import theories, reorganize the national heritage, and recreate civilization.
  4. When the granaries are full, people know ritual and restraint; when food and clothing are sufficient, they know honor and shame.
  5. Toward the past history of one’s own country, one should hold a warmth of feeling and a sense of respect.

Browse the society theme