This essay offers a new interpretation of the terms ẓāhir and bāṭin in Al-Muqaddima based on Ibn Khaldun's philosophy of language and rhetorical style. It shows that the figurative phrase fī bāṭinihi, followed by the term naẓar, implies that bāṭin is where historians should look to verify their information. On this reading, bāṭin denotes human association and its “essential conditions”. The terms also imply that there is reason in the bāṭin of history. Polities are at the core of history and its study, and politics requires reason to conduct. In this context, bāṭin is the content and substance of history, which refers to political organization and the range of rational actions required for the management of society. The ẓāhir of history, on the other hand, refers to the expression where the conditions of speech need to conform to the conditions in human association. This interpretation underscores the role of choice in Al-Muqaddima and challenges the determinism prevalent in the secondary literature.

中文翻译：

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伊本·赫勒敦 (Ibn Khaldun) 对《穆卡迪马》历史中的 Ẓāhir 和 Bāṭin 的新读

本文基于伊本·赫勒敦的语言哲学和修辞风格，对《穆卡迪玛》中的“ẓāhir ”和“bāṭin”进行了新的解释。它表明，比喻性短语fī bāṭinihi后面跟着术语naẓar，意味着bāṭin是历史学家应该验证其信息的地方。在此解读中，bāṭin表示人类交往及其“基本条件”。这些术语还暗示历史的发展是有原因的。政治是历史及其研究的核心，政治需要理性来运作。在此背景下，巴丁是历史的内容和实质，是指政治组织和管理社会所需的理性行动的范围。另一方面，历史的“ ẓāhir”是指言语条件需要符合人类交往条件的表达。这种解释强调了选择在Al-Muqaddima中的作用，并挑战了二手文献中盛行的决定论。