FUNCTIONS OF CHARITY FOUNDATIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST; CASE STUDY: ASTAN QUDS RAZAVI, MASHHAD, IRAN

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1 FUNCTIONS OF CHARITY FOUNDATIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST; CASE STUDY: ASTAN QUDS RAZAVI, MASHHAD, IRAN Dr. MortezaNouraei Dr. Mohammad Ali Chelongar AbolfazlHasanabadi Abstract The article will first look into the history of religious endowments and the establishment of Astan Quds Razavi as a charity organization, and will go on to inspect the proceeds and resources of endowments and charitable and humanitarian activities by relying on documents, deeds, administrative charts and facts and figures related to different periods of the foundation s activities. The research project is to show that it is the oldest and biggest endowment institution in Iran that has affected a large spectrum of the people in the country due to its public nature and the service it provides for the pilgrims and going to conclude that Astan Quds Razavi could serve as a good model for those who want to examine the different aspects of religious endowments in an Islamic society. Keywords: endowment, Imam Reza, holy shrine, Mashhad,Khorasan Associate Professor in History, University of Isfahan, Iran. Associate Professor in History, University of Isfahan, Iran. PhD candidates in History, University of Isfahan, Iran. COPY RIGHT 2013 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1352

2 1. Introduction Through endowments, one donates part or whole of his wealth while he is alive for God s pleasure. The original endowed property lasts forever and its proceeds will be used for humanitarian purposes. Among the Islamic nations of the Middle East endowments are regarded as an influential religious practice, despite differences in religious aspects. Yet, when it comes to the benefits of endowments, such differences are sidelined. Today, there are many influential institutions in the Middle East which have their bases in the religious endowments. In Iran, though the history of such practices goes back to the period before Islam, religious endowments came to full blossom in the Islamic period. Presently there are numerous private and public religious endowments across the country, which are run by endowments' administrations. Astan Quds Razavi is dedicated to Imam Reza (AS), the Shia s eighth imam. From long in the past, the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) in the city of Mashhad, has been the center of attention of Imam s devotees who have endowed their properties to the His holy shrine to help the pilgrims meet their needs. Astan Quds Razavi was formed as there was a need for an administrative apparatus to manage the increasing religious endowments. The foundation today is among the largest endowment institutions in the Middle East. The activities of Astan Quds Razavi as a charitable institution are religious and humanitarian in nature and they are organized in different fields based on the kinds and variety of the endowed properties and the will of the bequeaths. Based on the type of the endowed properties and their stipulated usage, Astan Quds Razavi manages both private and public endowments. The public endowments are usually used for public purposes like buying wearing stuff for the pilgrims, feeding them and extending money and goods in the form of aids and covering treatment costs of the people. But in case of private endowments, the bequeather decides where his or her property should be used. He or she may thus endow properties that will be ultimately used to build private tombs, candle lighting and reciting the Holy Quran on his or her behalf. But the important thing here is the management of both private and public endowments in a single institute. Moreover, Astan Quds Razavi plays an important economic, religious and cultural role in maintaining about 20 million pilgrims who visit the sacred shrine of Imam Reza (AS) every year, promoting religious tourism in Iran. The present research will especially examine diverse aspects of Astan Quds Razavi as a large endowment foundation in Iran and the Middle East. Also, the history of the endowment institution, the way it generates incomes, the humanitarian services it provides and the aids procedures as well as the main reasons behind the success and stability of this charitable foundations will be duly addressed in a scientific way by using facts, figures and charts. COPY RIGHT 2013 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1353

3 2.Background: Astan Quds Razavi religious endowment foundation The historical documents show that in the early days a small and simple administration was in charge of the sacred shrine of Imam Reza (AS). In the early centuries, people nicknamed Naqueeb i or guardians were in charge of Haram or the sacred premises. The guardians were mainly selected from amongst the descendants of Imam Ali (AS) residing in Toos neighborhood. These guardians were also given the post of keeper of the Haram keys. ii Apparently, the post of guardianship was first restricted to members of Zaydi household. But then, the post went to Shia descendants of Imam Hussein (AS) (Sadat Husseini) and during fifth, sixth and seventh centuries (Lunar Hegira) Shia descendants of Imam Musa Kazem (AS) (Sadat Musavi) were appointed as iii guardians. In the ninth century (LH), the Shia descendants of Imam Reza (AS) were in charge. The reign of Safavids in Iran brought with itself unique changes hardly seen during other dynasties. One of these prominent changes was the establishment of the Shia religion which was served as the basis for the Safavid shahs to achieve later goals. The Safavid shahs were great promoters of endowments. Shah Abbas was among the biggest bequeathers of religious endowments. He endowed big parts of real estates to Astan Quds Razavi.(turkeman,1376,1:461 Sixtynine thousand pages of documents related to the activities of Astan Quds Razavi during the Safavid period demonstrate that under Safavids the charitable foundation and its administrative apparatus underwent a gradual expansion with the sacred shrine of Imam Reza (AS) receiving most attention (figuer 1). Around the end of the Safavid dynasty in 1130 (LH) till Nader the first Afsharid Shah seized power to establish his dynasty and the subsequent murder of Nader, Astan Quds Razavi was in a relative turmoil.(sefatgol,1379:255) A reference to 40 thousand pages of documentations left from the Afsharid period and also the Scroll and Endowment Deed of Ali Shah Afshar demonstrate that from 1160 (LH) Ali Shah Afshar put in place fundamental reforms in Astan Quds Razavi, providing the sacred shrine with a consistent administrative apparatus. During the reign of Afsharids, Astan Quds saw relative stability. When Qajar came to power in 1210 (LH), the central government could maintain almost no control over Khorasan province. This, accompanied by frequent invasions by the Turkmen, led to a decline of Astan Quds Razavi. Little is known about this period. In 1248, Mirza Musa Khan assumed the guardianship of the foundation. From this year on, until the Constitution Movement in 1324, Astan Quds Razavi and the city of Mashhad underwent a big development; the administrative establishment of the foundation was refurbished and lots of infrastructural work was done regarding its sacred places The first code of regulations for the sacred places was drawn up in 1299 by Rokn-od-Dowleh the then guardian of Astan Quds Razavi. The Constitutional COPY RIGHT 2013 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1354

4 Movement and the following events that brought to an end the Qajar dynasty ( ), exerted direct effects on Astan Quds Razavi.. (hassanabadi,1385: ) One of the significant events in this period was the shelling of the sacred shrine of Imam Reza (AS) by Russian troops in 1330 (LH).. (hassanabadi,1389:54) Despite all the ups and downs, during the Qajar reign, charitable endowments were not stopped and both sacred places of Astan Quds Razavi and the administrative establishment of the foundation were enhanced to keep the pace with the growing size of the religious endowments.(kaveanian,1355:387) During the reign of Reza, the First Pahlavi Shah of Iran, Astan Quds Razavi went through dramatic changes. From 1305 (SH) on, the administrative apparatus of the foundation experienced basic reforms. The administrative bodies were given new names or responsibilities. The shift patterns of the servicemen working at the sacred places were refurbished and the old code of regulations for such places was replaced by an updated one to better address new demands. (Attarodi,1371:79) When Mohammad-Reza, the Second Pahlavi shah, assumed the throne in 1320 (SH) till the Pahlavi demise in 1357 (SH), Astan Quds Razavi again adopted reforms. Due to the expansion of the religious endowments and an increase in the size of administrative and financial management systems, it was preferred that the endowments establishments and the administrative ones work separately. New administrative departments and branches were created and Astan Quds Razavi promoted new economic enterprises including a loaf sugar mill and other food industries. After the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1357 (SH), Astan Quds Razavi entered a new phase of its development. By relying on its cultural, religious and social potentials, the endowment institution introduced long-term plans to assume a more active role. After the Iran-Iraq war, for example, the charitable institution reconstructed the border city of Hoveizeh, which was almost totally ruined during the eight-year imposed war. Today, Astan Quds Razavi employs more than 10,000 people and embraces 100 enterprises. It possesses an old big library with three million books and 50 affiliate libraries, sixty thousand manuscripts, thirteen million pages of documents and a large newspaper archive maintaining thirteen thousand newspaper and magazine titles. Moreover, the charitable foundation maintains two big Islamic studies universities and a big Islamic research center. iv Compared to other institutions in Iran, Astan Quds Razavi boasts the second biggest library, the biggest center for manuscripts, the second biggest documents center and the one of biggest newspaper archive in the country, which both in quantity and value stay to be unrivaled in the region. Some of these resources and collections have been included in memory of the world register. The Safavids documents collections of Astan COPY RIGHT 2013 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1355

5 Quds Razavi have also received UNESCO recognition. 136 ( (Astan Quds Razavi endowment foundation has also an old medical center founded some 500 years ago. Besides, it has set up one of the most modern medical centers in Iran. Since many of the endowments managed by the foundation are agricultural or commercial concerns, Astan Quds Razavi has achieved great economic progress and now it boasts one of the biggest agricultural and industrial hubs. The endowment foundation is also actively involved in new forms of commerce including the stock markets. The evidence demonstrates once again that it is almost impossible to find a charitable institution in the Middle East to match with Astan Quds Razavi in history and magnitude of activities. 3.The main financial resources of Astan Quds Razavi Since Astan Quds Razavi is by its nature a religious endowment foundation, its revenues come mainly from endowments. There are two main categories for endowments: 3.1Endowment of material goods and books which goes back to the year 327 (LH) (Fazel hashemi,1383:5) 3.2Endowment of properties or real estates dated back to the time of Mahmud Ghazan Khan, the Il-Khanid king in the 8th century (LH) (khafi,1339,3:34) The oldest endowed property held by Astan Quds Razavi dates back to the year 931 (LH), settled by Atiq Ali ibn Ahmad MalekToossi. It was in fact from this year on that the charitable foundation earned fixed revenues and its administrative apparatus was gradually formed. The remaining endowment letters show that Astan Quds Razavi has maintained diverse sources of revenues, including real estates, gardens, farms, shops, irrigation water, mills and rent money. A close look at 285,000 pages of documents dated back to the Safavid period till the end of the Qajar region ( )and examining a considerable number of uncounted contemporary ( SH) deeds reveal that these concerns serve as the basic sources of income for Astan Quds Razavi. In addition to these sources, the central governments in different periods often extended aids to the charitable foundation in order to support it and at the same time achieve religious, charitable and political aims. During the Safavids, for instance, the government aids were in the form of granting appendages.under the Qajars and during the contemporary times, these aids included tax exemptions and long-term loans. The charitable foundation has been able to generate incomes through leasing endowment properties. The accounting systems employed by the foundation till the end of the Qajar period, were all ledger- COPY RIGHT 2013 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1356

6 based.(hassanabadi,1382, 35) The income establishment of Astan Quds Razavi maintained a unique administrative order. The documents left from those days show that the guardians closely monitored the mechanism for collecting revenues. One of the interesting points about the charitable foundation is that it maintains a diverse range of endowed properties which are located in all parts of Iran. Today, the endowed properties held by Astan Quds Razavi are not restricted to the city of Mashad and other big and small cities of Khorasan Province, as many other cities and provinces in Iran, including Gorgan, Mazandaran, Isfahan, Shoshtar, etc, are settling endowments and agencies across the country have been set up to manage them. Recent years have seen a remarkable growth in the revenues obtained through endowments. Yet, endowment assets are still the main source of income for Astan Quds Razavi. Examining the annual budget book of the charitable foundation reveals that it has earned revenues in two main ways: 3.1.1Current incomes collected mainly from agricultural properties, real estates and tenements, enterprises, vows, donations, burial fees, gardens, waterways and Qanats and other similar sources Financial resources, investment and deposit money. During the past 40 years, the current incomes of Astan Quds Razavi have always been obtained from the above said sources. But the financial resources and money depositing have been diverse and based on conditions.current incomes in early days were the main source of revenues for the charitable foundation. But with depositing money in the following years and promoting long-term investments, the revenue generation in this method gradually started to yield more incomes (Table1 here). Much of the incomes earned in this way are spent for indirect and service aids. 4.Types of Astan Quds Razavi humanitarian activities Addressing people s basic needs and extending humanitarian aids to the pilgrims of the sacred shrine of Imam Reza (AS) are the prime goals of the endowment practices. Yet, utilizing the endowment s financial resources to address general and specific needs depends on some basic factors. The main factor that determines how the endowment resources should be allocated is the will of the bequeather of the endowment. In other words, there are settlers of pious endowments who verify how the endowment property and the revenues derived from it should be used. In fact, in such cases, Astan Quds Razavi acts on behalf of the bequeather to exercise his or her will. And based on religious orders, the charitable foundation should not alter the way of usage. These types of religious endowments are called specific COPY RIGHT 2013 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1357

7 endowments. In the case of specific endowments, Astan Quds Razavi guarantees that the revenues obtained from the endowed properties are used in the specific way desired by the bequeather.(hassanabadi,1385:123) Second type of religious endowments are those bearing no specific usage tag. In other words, Astan Quds Razavi is free to use them in what way it deems proper. Based on this type, the endowments with Astan Quds Razavi fall into two categories. Firstly, absolute endowments which can be used by the guardians in any way deemed proper, and there are two types for them: 4.1 Endowments with stipulated guardians without specified usage; 4.2 Endowments with no stipulations regarding their guardians and usage. Secondly, endowments procured by using the endowment revenues. Regarding these types of endowments, the guardians are entitled to spend the money at their discretion to address needs 5. Governments and endowments From the Safavid period on, as stipulated in the endowment letters, the Shahs were in charge of Astan Quds Razavi. But the distance between the capital and the city of Mashhad, on one hand, and dealing with the state affairs, on the other, were keeping them away from the job. So they used to appoint a guardian to do the job on their behalf. Because of their affiliations with the Shahs and central governments, the guardians were very powerful. But their authority was restricted both by the will of the Shah and that of the bequeather of religious endowments. The authority of a guardian was determined by the influence of the central government: if the central government was powerful enough to closely monitor what was going on in Mashhad, the guardians could exert less authority, but if a weak central government was in power, lack of influence associated with inaccessibility left guardians with more material and spiritual power. Thus governments in all periods have tried to harness the power of guardians by direct interventions in the affairs of the charitable foundation especially in deciding the usage of the endowments. Many of the payments made by the foundation including money paid to the heirs used to be done based on government orders. The above mentioned factors have affected the humanitarian activities of Astan Quds Razavi charitable foundation. Documents remained from those days, which are kept in the document center of the foundation, show that despite alterations in the type of aids they tended to maintain their original nature to serve the wills of the bequeaths of the endowments and their stipulated usage. Moreover, these documents reveal that from the Safavid period on, Astan Quds Razavi initiated continuous payments. The main types of these continuous COPY RIGHT 2013 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1358

8 payments included direct financial payments and material handouts made to the people in the form of stipends, allowances, and pensions. Yet, there are different views about these types of payments and their recipients. Minorsky, for instance, believes that stipends were in fact donations paid in cash.(samia,1368:86) Bousse maintains on the other hand that stipends refer to payments made from different sources and were subject to suspension(bousse,1368:199) Floor thinks that the main sources of stipends were incomes generated from endowments including revenues obtained from the tax put on endowed properties and the money from selling agricultural produce. According to Floor, stipends were paid annually or every six months and they issued receipts for the payments..(floor,1998:62) To receive a stipend, one had to ask for it in written form or a governmental official could ask on behalf of the person. The petition then went to the Shah to grant an order. It is entrusted with the special state accountant to recognize recipients and deal with issues like the gender of the people covered, their ages and family relations. Based on the remained documents, the recipients of these aids were both men and women but the number of men was more( Rafiā,1358:229). On the other hand, the recipients were sometimes locals of the cities like Kashan 23 (Document No /84) Sabzevar (Document No /77)or Kandahar(Document No /81), or in some specific cases they belonged to one household, like the household of Mohammad Reza Qajar or a special sect like the Dervishes of Baktashi and EidGah sanctuaries, (Document No /13,) or they belonged to a specific occupation like the carpet weavers. (Document No /66), These people and several generations after them were entitled to receive the payments. In other words, children and even sisters and brothers of the original recipients inherited the fund and after the death of female recipients their children inherited it. The needy people, travellers and pilgrims were the main recipients of such funds. ( Document No /8 137 ) Though people, generation after generation, inherited the fund, it seems that based on situation the payment could be short-term. That is, if one was subjected to receive the fund for a pious retreat in Mashhad and the situation no longer existed, the payment was suspended. There were two ways for people to file petitions for a stipend payment: 5.1 Submission of petitions directly to the Court and filing for the Shah s order;(figuer2) 5.2 Referring to Astan Quds Razavi and asking the guardian to make a petition on one s behalf and write a letter to the Shah. Based on the existing documents, people usually chose the first way and referred to the court to file a petition and after obtaining the Shah s order, they made a handwritten copy of the order to submit it to the COPY RIGHT 2013 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1359

9 charitable foundation. Thereafter, going through administrative formalities, they could collect the money. The court orders usually specified the amount of the payment and its kind, i.e., whether it was in cash or material form, and the place of the payments. (Document No /75) Also, the orders included the expiry date of the deed, the name of the people who should execute the order and the intervals for the payment, i.e., six months, (Document No.32564) seven months, (Document No ) nine months (Document No /49) ten months Document (No /37)or annual payments. (Document No /39 ) If the aid was material, farms were responsible to provide it; if it was pecuniary, the order of payment was most of the time referred to the treasury. The Shah s order would bear the seal of the court, and after its submission to AStan Quds Razavi a handwritten copy of it was included in the recipients roster. The guardian was responsible to carry out the Shah s order and pay the money.(figuer3) The recipients usually collected their money in person. But sometimes they appointed an attorney to receive the money on their behalf. Attorneys were ordinary people or sometimes employees working in Astan Quds Razavi. (Document No /39)The aid money was raised using other sources too, including the money collected from the holy burial chamber of Imam Reza (AS), (Document No /9 )the taxes put on endowed properties, rental returns, Mashhad real estates,( Document No /6) rent money, and treasury. (Document No /16) The material aids were usually consisted of wheat and barley, referred to as the split-up grains, that is, an equal share of wheat and barley, but sometimes the handouts included more barley than wheat. The units for weighing the material aids were those used in the city of Tabriz and the cash money was in currencies used in Iraq, Tabriz and Khorasan. In this period, extending help to the ordinary people and descendants of authorities gained momentum and tended to form an important part of Astan Quds razavi activities. The aids were in the form of stipends and pensions. The payments fostered a close relation between the charitable foundation and the central governments during the Safavid reign and the next dynasties. The Qajar period saw changes in the administrative formalities governing payments. Under the Qajars, petitions were directly submitted to the guardian of Astan Quds Razavi. During the Qajar reign, there were diversities regarding the religion and ethnicity of the aid recipients. Those petitions that bore the confirmation of religious authorities ( Document No /3)or other important people had more chance to win bigger payments. The petitions filed in this period also included those demanding money to pay for the travel costs to the Sacred Thresholds. The interesting point about this is that some of the aids recipients were from other COPY RIGHT 2013 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1360

10 nationalities, including Afghan ( Document No /1) Caucasian (Document No /1) Baluchi (Document No /1)or members of religious minorities who had converted to Islam (Document No /1) All these people were paid for years. The payment of money was made to people with almost no delay and people were satisfied. In addition to extending financial and material aid, there were times that the charitable foundation offered to treat sick people in its infirmary. The amount of money paid was related to different factors, as the number of people, the extent of need and the social status. Though the money paid to the people did not constitute a large amount, it played an important role in addressing the basic needs of the recipients. While, as a religious institution, Astan Quds Razavi regards helping people as an important goal, it holds endowed properties especially dedicated to the pilgrims. Thus it is obliged to administer the wills of the endowment settlers and guarantee that the endowed properties are used as stipulated by them. Of course a close look at the way the payments made reveals that no specific resources were being used to cover them. Most of the aid requests were being responded to by granting money, material aids and bread. In some special cases, aids included overcoats and shoes. But most aid requests approved by the guardian were being covered using cash incomes of the foundation through a general drafting mechanism. During the contemporary period and from 1304 (SH) on, the administrative apparatus has undergone great changes, relieving some of the formalities to better provide the public with help. Based on the new administrative order and following the submission of petitions or in some cases after the needy people were recognized, monthly pensions were put in place in the forms of cash or material handouts. Despite a change in the form of aids, their nature and source of payments have never changed due to the stable structure of endowments. Yet, as endowments generate more incomes and the number of pilgrims is on the rise, the quantity of aids is also being increased. There are two main categories of aids in Astan Quds Razavi: 5.3 Direct cash and material aids: With a history of 400 years, this kind of aid has been made regularly and annually. Based on the information obtained from endowment books in Astan Quds Razavi, there are two types for direct aids, Aids granted to the public sector include organizations, care houses, societies and charitable associations. Here are the names of a few organizations and centers that were receiving these aids before the victory of Islamic Revolution: The Welfare Association, Reza Pahlavi Nursery, Reza Pahlavi School for the Blind, Red Lion and Sun Orphan, Farah Pahlavi School, National Welfare Organization for the Blind, Leprosy Services Home, Disability COPY RIGHT 2013 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1361

11 Sanitarium, Prisoner Support Association, Children Support Association, Center for Retired Army Officers and Non-commissioned Officers, Women s Organization, Supreme Council for Women, Dispatch-travelers-home Aid Commission, Imperial Social Services Organization in Khorasan, Consumer Cooperative of Astan Quds Razavi Employees. Direct aids have also been extended to the religious scholars and preachers to cover their travel costs to the holy city of Mecca and the Sacred Thresholds and also for the treatment of the poor people. Direct aids were paid constantly and on an annual basis. But there could be alterations in the quantity of aids based on endowment incomes and at the discretion of the guardian of Astan Quds Razavi. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, there was a decline in the number of organizations that received aids. But certain organizations and centers were among those receiving annual budgets while their names were included in the budget books of the foundation. The following are some of the organizations and centers entitled to receive annual budgets. The leprosy services house, sanitarium for the disabled people, the welfare organization, prisoner support association, Hashemi-Nejad juvenile training center, the poor people of Dameghan, Rafsanjan s Mortazavi Hospital, Seerjan Hospital and Rafsanjan s Mortazavi vocational school. Most of the aids extended to these organizations and centers have been directly related to endowment revenues. In case of Kerman province, for example, new aid recipients have been added to the aids list after properties, including gardens or farms were settled for endowments. Then based on the revenues generated by the endowed properties and the will of the bequeathers, new recipients have been added to the aids list. Aids granted to the private sector, on the other hand, constitute the most important type of aids extended by Astan Quds Razavi in its history, as the charitable foundation in first place should exercise the wills of the endowment settlers. The private aids have always surpassed the aids granted to the public sector. Examining the main recipients of these types of aids during the past decades reveals that there was a fixed list for them but sometimes new recipients were added to the main list Paying educational expenses of the orphan children as well as their food and clothing; Supporting hotels sheltering and feeding pilgrims; Assisting descendants of the Prophet and seminary scholars; Sending students abroad for study and providing them with fellowships (only in some years); Providing the poor access to medical treatments; Helping the poor; Paying the marriage expenses of young men and women; Insurance cover for the retired personnel. COPY RIGHT 2013 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1362

12 In the annual budget books, the amount of aids extended to the public sector is recorded in general and only for private aids there are detailed specifications. Yet, from 1360 (SH) on, public aids have also been documented in detail. From the year 1374 (SH), there has been a fundamental change in the type and quality of the aids extended by Astan Quds Razavi. In other words, the public and private aid categories were eliminated and general budget allocations are put in place for each category. In 1372 (SH), the relief department of Astan Quds Razavi was created and part of the budget allotted to the private sector was entrusted to this department. The following table contains sample direct aids granted in 1374 (SH): I. Assisting descendants of the Prophet and seminary scholars---3,215,717 cases II. III. IV. Providing orphans with food and clothing cases Providing pilgrims with clothing, shoes and travel expenses cases Awarding Eid bonuses to the poor, descendants of the Prophet and servants of the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) cases Incomes obtained from the endowed properties constitute the source for the direct aids mentioned above. Making direct financial aids in Astan Quds Razavi is closely related to the revenues generated by the specific endowments. From 1381 (SH) on, the amount of aids extended have been indexed separately for each endowment letter. 6.Indirect aids and services The indirect aids provided by Astan Quds Razavi fall under the category of services which are mostly financed through incomes generated by indirect investments of the foundation or through endowed properties with no stipulated usage. Revenues obtained in this way are also used to develop sacred places and cultural projects. The amount of indirect aids is closely related to the amount of the annual budget, as with an increase in the latter the indirect aids also improve. From 1374 (SH) on, the extension of indirect aids in Astan Quds Razavi received momentum and their amount surpassed direct aids which are closely related to the endowment revenues. Most of the indirect aids have been used to finance public cultural services and unlike the direct aids, which are economic in nature covering limited recipients, they tend to cover a larger spectrum of recipients. The main indirect service aids which fall under the category of culture and society include: promotion of Islamic culture and art, appreciating Islamic sacred traditions, assisting libraries and museums, nurturing artistic creations, extending cultural and press services, assisting public media and promoting education and research. Presently, the main source of service aids provided by Astan Quds Razavi is indirect aids. Based on the latest official figures provided by the foundation, it has allocated 325 million tomāns Toomans to support people who COPY RIGHT 2013 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1363

13 have referred to Astan Quds Razavi clinic, 258 million Toomans to the people who have referred to the Razavi Hospital, 45 million Toomans to buy medicines for the needy, 672 milliontoomans to provide clothing, shoes for the poor pilgrims and their travel costs, 60 million Toomans to the sanitarium for the disabled people, 475 million Toomans to cover the miscellaneous needs of the pilgrims, one billion, seven hundred million Toomans to the leprosy services house and orphans, one billion, one hundred million Toomans to the relief department of Astan Quds Razavi, and five billion, eight million Toomans to Imam Reza (AS) restaurant, known as Hazrati Restaurant, which feed free of charge three thousand people every day v ( Document No /1) Finally, aiding ordinary people who come to Mashhad to visit Imam Reza (AS) shrine as pilgrims constitute the main target of the revenues obtained from the endowments. Astan Quds Razavi as a charitable endowment foundation has relied on its coherent administrative apparatus, to serve pilgrims for the past 500 years. (Tables 4-5-6) 7.Conclusion The present research reveals that the establishment of Astan Quds Razavi as a religious foundation is comprised of two main administrative divisions: 7.1 The administrative establishment for the sacred places; and 7.2 The administrative establishment for the endowments. From the Safavid period on, the administrative establishment for the sacred places has been in charge of managing the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS). A framework of three, five and eight shifts has been assigned since then to handle the holy shrine affairs. In every shift, there are different posts including shift supervisors, servers, servants, carpet spreaders, gate keepers and shoe keepers, all doing their jobs according to a certain code of regulations. The administrative jobs and posts in the religious foundation are heritable and most of them like the post of a shift supervisor, server, controller, or an attorney are heritable and could be transferred across generations. The administrative establishment for managing endowment affairs and organizing the endowed real estate properties has gradually developed to keep pace with the expansion of the endowed properties. Under Qajars, an administrative establishment known as Dar-o-ttoliyeh, was in charge of the job. During the Pahlavi s, however, the central organization of Astan Quds Razavi was set up to organize and manage its diverse subdivisions. Today, most of the administrative affairs including managing endowment properties and providing service aids to the pilgrims are done in the subdivisions of the administrative apparatus. Since endowments and their stipulated usages are responsible for the formation of the administrative apparatus, time has not changed the COPY RIGHT 2013 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1364

14 main administrative structure; rather it has reformed to cope with new demands. A good example is Astan Quds Razavi s old clinic which has given its place to the modern Razavi Hospital, or another subdivision of the administrative establishment responsible for stockpiling wearing stuffs, known as Korkoragh-khaneh, which has transformed to be a brand new textile factory. No mention that the old pilgrims feeding places have been replaced by modern restaurants. The main philosophy behind the creation of Astan Quds Razavi as a religious and endowment foundation was assisting those who come to Mashhad from far and wide to visit the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS). The religious and endowment foundation has used its direct financial aids to pay for clothing costs, treatment and educational expenses of the people in need as well as feeding them. Moreover, Astan Quds Razavi has used its indirect aids to develop sacred places and promote service centers like libraries, museums, etc. For centuries, Astan Quds Razavi has been a source of these aids and its indirect aids have tended to cover a larger and larger spectrum of recipients due to more investments and a high increase in the number of financial resources and revenues generated from sources other than endowments. Today, by managing the enduring endowment resources Astan Quds Razavi can be regarded as a symbol of success in the world of Islam for promoting the endowment culture and using the vast endowment resources to foster religious, cultural, social and economic enterprises. COPY RIGHT 2013 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1365

15 References Abolfazl Hassanabadi(1385) A brief look at the history of the administrative body of the sacred places, the Meshkat journal, 90. Abolfazl Hassanabadi,(1389) The shelling of the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS), journal of Shamseh,6. Abolfazl, Hassanabadi,(1377) Sadat Razavi of Mashhad,Mashhad:Islamic Research Foundation, Attarodi, Azizollah,(1371) A history of Astan Quds Razavi, Tehran:Attaro Check: All the administrative documents related to the establishment of Astan Quds Razavi under the Safavids were recognized in 2009 as human heritage and were included in memory of the world register. For more information, check the following Internet address: The oldest endowed book kept in Astan Quds Razavi is a manuscript of the holy Quran registered under the number For more information, see: Seyyed Mohammad Reza FazelHashemi(1383) Barequeh, the Daneshvarz journal, 32. Abolfazl Hassanabadi(1382)The history of administrative establishment of Astan Quds Razavi in the Safavid era the history and geography book of month journal, Abolfazl Hassanabadi(1385)The guardians of Astan Quds under the Safavids and Afsharids.In Zahra Talaee,Books of Document,5.Mashhad:Astan Quds library. Eskander Beige Turcoman(1376)Alam Array Abbasi, ed. Rezvani, Mohammad Esmaeil,Tehran,AmirKabir. Ghazan endowed Farhadjard, Farhadan and Mokhalef Saray. Today Farhadjard is enlisted as an endowment property with Astan Quds Razavi and it is one of the authentic endowed properties., Ahmad ibn Mohammad Khafi(1339) Mojmal Fasihi.3, Mashad: Bastan Bookshop. Herbert Bousse(1368) A research on the Islamic administrative establishment according to documents from Agh-ghuyunlu, Ghara-ghuyunluand Safavid eras, tr. Gholamreza Varahram, Tehran, The Cultural Research Institute. MirzaRafiā(1358) The kings order (Dastourolmolouk), annotated by Marchinkovsky, tr Mohammad. KordAbadi,Tehran: Foreign Affair Press. Mirza Samiā(1368) A kings biographical memoir (Tazkeratulmolouk), ed. Dabir Siyaghi, Mohammad. Kavianian, Ehtesham.(1355) A history of Astan Quds Razavi,Mashhad:Meli Bank.. Sefat Gol, Mansoor(1379) The Safavid heritage and Nader Shah s efforts to establish an endowment foundation during the Afsharids, the History Journal, supplement of the literature journal, 1. Willem, Floor(1988) Fiscal history of Iran in Safavid and Qajar periods,new York: Biblioteca press. COPY RIGHT 2013 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1366

16 Annexure Table1: Current Incomes of Astan Quds Razavi in Different Years Type of Income agricultural properties Real estates and tenements enterprises, vows, Donations, burial fees organizations gardens, waterways, Qanats different incomes COPY RIGHT 2013 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1367

17 Table 4: Paying Money for public and Private Aids in Different Years people Private Institutions General Sections Year COPY RIGHT 2013 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1368

18 Table 5: Paying Money through Mowgufat for Providing Pilgrims with Clothing, Shoes in 1381 Name of Mowgufeh Abolfath Hossaini Hossain Khāan Nezāam od-doleh Latif Shah hossaini Mirza Saeed Khān SardarmohammadAlam Khan Ali Akbar Esfehani Mehdi Gholi Baig Ali Akbar Tahvildār Vali Mohammad Abdollāh Mostowfi Mir Alimardān Khān COPY RIGHT 2013 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1369

19 Table 6: Paying Money for Providing the Poor Access to Medical Treatments Name of Mowgufeh Ali Shah Afshāar Mohammad Naser Khāāan Qajar Amir Hossain Khan Hossain Khāan Vakil Al-Doleh Shamsoldin Mohammad Masoud Torbati Hassan Ali Lotfi Mohammad Hassan Saleh Alishah COPY RIGHT 2013 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1370

20 Notes i -Guardianship was a post first created during the reign of Mostaeen, the Abbasid caliph. Hussein ibn Ahmed ibn Mohammad ibnyahya ibn Zeldamaghat ibn Zeid was the first who became the Guardian of Astan Quds Razavi. He, in the year 251 (LH), asked Mostaeen to appoint a guardian for the Alawites. ii -In the first centuries, the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) was consisted of a main chamber with the guardian of the shrine serving as the keeper of the keys. The key-holder used to open the holy shrine during certain times of the day. It was kept shut during the nights. After an administrative apparatus was created during the Safavids, keeping the keys turned to be a post in Astan Quds Razavi, and until the Pahlavis the post was maintained by prestigious families. During Qajars, keeping the keys was a monopoly of the Shahidi families. iii -Abolfath Nasser ibn Zeid, Abolhassan ibn Zeid ibn Adnan and Abu Ali Abolfotoh were members of the Zeidiyeh household who held the guardianship in the city of Mashhad.After the Zeidies, the descendant of Imam Hussein (AS) or Sadat Husseini, were appointed as guardians in Toos. The Descendants of Imam Mussa Kazem (AS) or Sadat Mussavi, were next to take over. While they were living in Mashhad in the 5th and 6th (LH) centuries, they did not assume the job until the 7th century. In the 9th century, the descendant of Imam Reza (AS) or Sadat Razavi, resided in Mashhad and gradually seized the post of guardianship iv -All the administrative documents related to the establishment of Astan Quds Razavi under the Safavids were Quds Razavi goes back to about 500 years ago. There was a clinic, called Daroshafa, for treating the sick. v -All the figures presented in this research article are based on the data recorded in the annual budget books of Astan Quds Razavi between the years (SH). Due to some administrative limitations, figures have not been released in full. COPY RIGHT 2013 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1371