«The Interregnum Eras» and «the Continuity of the Chain of the Divine Proofs»

The interregnum eras are mentioned in one of the Qur’an verses and some of the traditions. Some of the commentators and lexicographers believe that the interregnum eras were the periods in which the earth has been devoid of God’s chosen ones; therefore, they interpret “Fatraten men ar-rosol” as “the gap between the presence of the prophets”. The present article is going to challenge the above mentioned interpretation, and provide some evidence which proves it to be wrong. Various uses of the root “Fatr” and the term “Fatrat” (interregnum) indicate that the word means “weakness and lethargy”, not “dissociation and break”, and so the interregnum eras are actually referring to the eras during which God’s divine authorities were weak and concealed their faith (Taqiya). Hence, interpreting “fatrat” (interregnum) as “dissociation and break” distorts the substantial meaning of the term, and imposes a rare and new meaning on it which has no previous verbal proof. On the other hand, the commentators and lexicographers proposed this rare meaning because of the historical presupposition they have had about the interregnumeras; however, even their historical presupposition about the discontinuity of the divine proofs during the interregnum eras is also wrong, and there are some evidence which suggests that in all the famous interregnum eras, God’s divine proofs have been present on the earth. Consequently, a false historical presupposition has led to the creation of an uncommon meaning for the term “fatrat” (interregnum), and hence some of the commentators and lexicographers have got away from the main meaning of the word which refers to the weakness and loneliness of God’s chosen ones.