Formation of the Concept of Public Goodnessin the Idea of Clergymen of the Constitutional Era

The purpose of the present research is to study formation of the concept of public good in the idea of clergymen of the constitutional era. In this regard, Quentin Skinner’s hermeneutic method was used and the results showed that the concept of “religion’s goodness” was a common norm among the clergymen before the constitutional era. By their Ijtehād (independent reasoning) and revaluation of the concept of goodness, the Islamic scholars supporting the Persian constitution attempted to reconceptualize the interpretation of public interest arising from the new world based on the Islamic intellectual traditions. Seyyed Jamāl Asad Ābādi by proposing the concept of “public interests”, Ākhound Khorāsāni and Mohammad Hossein Nā’ini by the concept of “typical Issues” or “common issues”, and Ismā’il Mahallāti by the concept of “public benefits” presented a religious interpretation of public good. This new concept within the framework of religion assigned the nation in charge of transformations in the public filed.