Re-reading the Concept of Place-Time in the Cosmological Islamic Utopia for Guiding Contemporary Iranian Urban Thought (Origin of Idea: A Reflection on the Isfahan School)
Subject Areas : شاخصهای شهر ایرانی اسلامی
1 - Assistant Professor, Department of Urban Planning, Faculty of Society and Media, Isfahan Branch (Khavaşgan), Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran.
Keywords: Utopia, Transcendental Theosophy, Place-Time, Streams of Thought, Contemporary Iranian City.,
Abstract :
Re-reading the Concept of Place-Time in the Cosmological Islamic
Utopia for Guiding Contemporary Iranian Urban Thought
(Origin of Idea: A Reflection on the Isfahan School)
Mojdeh Jamshidi*
This study employs a qualitative and foundational approach, investigates the intellectual foundations of the utopian ideal in Islamic civilization, focusing on the constitutive roles of time and space as the ontological and structural bases of urban form and meaning. By engaging the philosophical contributions of Transcendent Theosophy and the Isfahan School during a seminal phase of Islamic intellectual history, the research aims to articulate a deeper theoretical understanding of the social philosophy of space and provide conceptual resources for contemporary Iranian urbanism and planning.
Keywords: Utopia, Transcendental Theosophy, Place-Time, Streams of Thought, Contemporary Iranian City.
Methodology
The research is situated within an interpretive paradigm and grounded in a fundamental approach. Data were gathered through library and documentary sources and analyzed by inductive reasoning and thematic content analysis. Within this framework, the notions of time and space are precisely delineated, and their interrelations with other key urban-philosophical concepts are examined.
Main Findings
The analysis demonstrates that the utopian foundations of Islamic thought, when recontextualized for contemporary Iranian cities, rest on three essential domains:
- The Sacred: derived from religious teachings and Qur’anic epistemes.
- The Structural: addressing social and spatial systems of urban life.
- The Experiential (Practical): embedded in everyday practices and lived urban experience.
These domains operate within spatio-temporal matrices that, informed by local geography and ideological frameworks, generate an indigenous urban tradition. This tradition, in turn, is structured around three normative principles:
- Unity (structure-based): signifying social and spatial cohesion.
- Manifestation (action-based): denoting the creative and performative expression of individual and collective agency.
- Wayfaring (Sulūk) (rationality and local epistemology-based): representing the dynamic progression of society toward perfection.
Furthermore, the findings highlight that time and space mediate these principles and, in the context of contemporary Iran, assume four distinctive qualities: adaptive (arising from cultural patterns of care), threshold-oriented (reflecting liminal and transitional conditions), self-regulating (linked to the historical-geopolitical pressures of place), and imaginative (nurtured by art and creativity).
Conclusion and Strategies:
Given the role of utopian models in reconciling spatial-temporal contradictions, the study proposes four strategic orientations for contemporary Iranian cities:
- Contingent Strategy (synchrony–coexistence): emphasizing adaptability and coexistence with present conditions.
- Adaptive Strategy (continuity–cohesion): preserving social and spatial integrity amid change.
- Defensive Strategy (rhythm–endurance): safeguarding the rhythm and continuity of urban life against disruptions.
- Transformative Strategy (performative–creative): fostering progressive change through creativity and innovation.
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mojdeh.jamshidi@iau.ac.ir