Statistics in Islamic Scriptures and Legacy

Abstract

Statistics as a modern discipline has emerged and developed as part of the development of scientific inquiry. While Islamic civilization has contributed to many key areas of modern knowledge, one of the areas that has rarely been explored in this context is statistics. This paper examines the concept of statistics in Islamic scriptures, particularly the Qur’an, and how the concept has evolved in the history of Islamic civilisation. Evidences presented in the paper shed important light on how close the modern concept of statistics is to the term al-ahsa in the Qur’an.

Keywords: Statistics, Islam, Ahsa, Islamic History, Social Research, Ibn Khaldun

JEL Classification: Y8