Zurvan

See also Chapter 66, 'Zurvan' in The Republic of Rumi: a Novel of Reality

Zurvan is a personification of Time in Zoroastrian mythology. He was also worshipped as the supreme deity by the heretical Zoroastrian sect of Zurvanism, which developed during the decline of the Persian Empire and was known for its fatalistic worldview.

Iqbal’s concept of Time was influenced by the saying attributed to the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), “Do not vilify time, for God says, ‘I am Time.’” Hence it may have appealed to him to personify Time in Javid Nama through a figure that was merely “the spirit of Time and Space” according to mainstream belief (and as described by Iqbal in the book), but who had been mistaken by some to be a deity.

In the doctoral thesis of Iqbal, The Development of Metaphysics in Persia (1908), Zurvanism is mentioned in a list of the various explanations offered by the ancient Zoroastrians for the unity of the Ultimate Reality (God): “The Zarwanians look upon Light and Darkness as the sons of Infinite Time.”