THE METAMODERN TURN IN SUFI SEMIOTICS: A METHODOLOGY FOR THE ANALYSIS OF SEMANTIC RECURSIONS

Abstract

The study proposes a new theoretical and methodological framework for interpreting the symbolic and metaphorical structures of Sufi literature, articulated through the lens of metamodern thought. Its aim is to develop an analytical toolkit capable of capturing the nonlinearity of textual relations, the fractality of recurring images, and the recursive nature of meaning-making in Sufi texts: from the poetics of Rūmī and ʿAṭṭār to Akbarian metaphysics. The object of the study is the Sufi symbolic system conceived as a multilayered semiotic structure. The subject is the mechanisms through which meanings are generated and circulate within Sufi literary tradition, particularly fractal repetitions, symbolic transformations, and recursive cycles between the external (ẓāhir) and internal (bāṭin) dimensions of the text. The methodology advanced in the article integrates the principles of metamodern hermeneutics: oscillation, between rational and mystical interpretive modes, “double sincerity”, and openness to the plurality of meanings: with fractal semiotics and nonlinear models of reading. The analytical model encompasses three key vectors: the nonlinearity of interconnections between textual fragments; recurring motifs (Simurgh, light, wine, and others); and the movements of meaning through which the text generates its own interpretive dynamics. The proposed framework shows that Sufi semiotics functions not as a set of fixed symbols but as a self-generating semiotic ecosystem in which every image operates simultaneously on several levels and continually returns to the metaphysical center of tawḥīd, the singular Absolute. The findings demonstrate that applying a metamodern theoretical paradigm allows the Sufi text to be seen as a dynamic, open, multidimensional system in interpretation unfolds as a dialogue between the reader and the text. The conclusion emphasizes that this methodology expands the conceptual repertoire of the humanities by enabling the integration of mystical experience, Sufi poetics, and Sufi philosophy into the broader context of contemporary epistemological debates from complexity theory to the phenomenology of consciousness and post-nonclassical approaches in semiotics.