Nonlinear Nature of Time: The Sufi Model of Temporality as an Intellectual Paradigm

Abstract

The article examines the Sufi concept of temporality as a multidimensional phenomenon understood simultaneously in ontological, hermeneutic, and existential dimensions. Based on the analysis of the works of Rūmī, ʿAṭṭār, Ḥāfiẓ, and the broader Sufi tradition, it is shown that time in Sufism is not a linear ontological coordinate but emerges as a dynamic process of divine self-manifestation (tajallī). Special attention is given to the concepts of waqt (“the moment”), zamān (“ordinary time”), and dahr (“eternity”), which together form a model of temporal experience alternative to that of Western philosophy. The article also proposes a conceptual model of Sufi temporality as a nonlinear, recursive, and phenomenally open structure.The aim of the article is to provide a comprehensive study of the Sufi concept of temporality as a multidimensional structure that integrates the ontological self-disclosure of being, the mystical experience of the present moment (waqt), the hermeneutic mechanisms of meaning-making, and the nonlinear dynamics of time characteristic of Sufi poetics and metaphysics. The methodological basis of the study relies on an interdisciplinary approach that includes: hermeneutic analysis of the texts of Rūmī, ʿAṭṭār, and Ḥāfiẓ; phenomenological reconstruction of the experience of mystical immediacy; comparative analysis of temporal models within Islamic philosophy; and elements of fractal and nonlinear modeling for conceptualizing the structural characteristics of Sufi temporality.Results. The study demonstrates that Sufi temporality constitutes an integral model in which time appears not as a physical parameter but as an eventful, meaningful, and ontological space. It is shown that waqt functions as a point of breakthrough where the transcendent enters the empirical; mystical experience is interpreted as a condensed form of the present; and poetic language generates fractal structures of meaning-making that interweave exegetical, affective-emotional, and ontological layers. The nonlinear character of Sufi time is revealed through images of repetition, return, oscillation, and spiral motion, structures closely aligned with contemporary models of complex systems. Conclusions. The Sufi concept of temporality emerges as a productive intellectual paradigm that integrates mystical, ontological, and hermeneutic dimensions of time. The model of time proposed by Sufism holds significant potential for further application in the study of consciousness, in the interpretation of mystical texts, and in the development of new theoretical paradigms within the humanities.