Rereading the mental image of the scholars and intellectuals of the constitutional era of the law

The origins of some of the current legal and political structures of the Islamic Republic of Iran go back to the Constitutional Revolution. Some of the important themes that make up the legal and political structure of the country are rooted in the constitution and the thought of the elites of that period. Therefore, the issue of the present study is the explanation of the law as one of the most important constitutional concepts in the thought and opinions of the political elites of that period. Explaining this issue can lead to a proper understanding of the provisions of many existing laws, it is important in this regard. It is also necessary in that it can contribute to the pathology of much of the research literature of the period. The main question of the research is what mental image of the law do the elites of the constitutional period have? And the sub-question of the research is that from what origin and source did they receive this concept? It also aims to contribute to the richness of research in the field of important constitutional topics. A combined descriptive-analytical and comparative method has been used to achieve this research goal. The general finding of the research is that despite the common chapter of the efforts of scholars and intellectuals to solve the problem of backwardness in Iran, their different mental image of constructing the concept of law has caused a unique activism. Intellectual constitutionalists, applying human-centered principles, demanded that the sharia should not interfere in politics. On the other hand, the comprehensionists, understanding the norms of Iranian society, sought to enforce Western laws through the direct action of the people in formulating laws and reducing conflict with Islamic teachings. In contrast to separatists, separatist intellectuals blamed Islamic teachings for the country's lack of progress and saw human rights as drivers of development. On the other hand, legitimate scholars considered the origin of legislation to be the original Islamic rules and considered any formulation of human laws as heresy. The approach of constitutionalist scholars was to influence the component of recognizing the requirements of the time in drafting laws and confirming the indirect role of the people in drafting the law.