Elaboration and Analysis of Socio-economical Functions of the Institution of Waqf in Ardabil During the Qajar Period

Waqf is one of the oldest and most valuable human heritages that has been widely used among all ethnic groups, religions and civilized nations of the world and in different periods of Iranian history and has had lasting effects on societies. The issue of waqf and its formation and function have had a long history in the city of Ardabil. The city of Ardabil has had strategic and geopolitical value in terms of geographical location. During the Qajar period, although Ardabil did not have the prosperity and glory of the Safavid period, but people, especially Shiites, paid much attention to that city and until the end of the Qajar period, they went to visit the tomb of Sheikh Safi. The religious nature of Ardabil, especially as the origin of the head of the Safavid sect of Sheikh Safi al-Din and the location of his tomb, has had a great impact on the role and function of the waqf tradition in various religious, cultural, social and economic dimensions. The present study was done in a descriptive-analytical manner. To this end, libraries and archival documents and Waqfnameh were studied, reviewed and analyzed in the General Directorate of waqf and Charitable Affairs of Ardabil province. The present study seeks to answer the question: what socio-economic functions did the tradition and institution of waqf have in Ardabil during the Qajar period and what were the amount, types and uses of waqf in Ardabil? The analysis revealed how the socio-economic functions of waqf have been influenced by socio-historical events and intellectual currents of the Qajar period. Due to the religious nature of Ardabil, religious waqfs are the most common items in Waqfnameh. In addition, waqfs have been given to those people who have actually needed them. Also, new intellectual movements and the familiarity of Ardabili waqf doers with new ideas, including constitutionalism, have had a significant impact on the types of waqfs.