A Comparative Study of Zahir al-Islam’s Economic Initiatives, the Custodian of Astan Quds Razavi (1334-1335 AH and 1338-1339 AH)

The holy shrine of Imam Reza (the most significant gathering place of Shias in Iran) and Astan Quds Razavi have always been offering the opportunity for Shiite governments to show their true respect to Shiite Imams through proper managing and providing services to their pilgrimage. They have also tried to legitimize, establish, and continue their own rule though such activities. Therefore, proper managing of all properties and issues has been among the priorities of Shiite rulers, including Qajar rules. Relying on archived written orders and documents and comparing them, this study investigated the economic status of Astan Quds Razavi in the late Qajar era managed by Zahir al-Islam (Brother-in-law of Mozaffar al-Din Shah) and the custodian’s economic performance. The issue is under-investigated. Appointed by Ahmad Shah Qajar, he managed the organization for two periods (1334-1335 AH and 1338-1339 AH) and faced various economic challenges like Astan Quds’ rental properties. The results of comparative investigation of the periods showed that Zahir al-Islam’s economic initiatives in the second period was more extensive than those in the first period, but he faced budget shortage necessary for supporting various parts of Astan Quds and failed to effectively change the economic status of the organization. The reasons could be the unstable political structure and ineffective administrative ordinances in the late Qajar era, lack of required cooperation between Astan Quds and related organizations, unsuccessful implementation of economic agenda proposed by Zahir al-Islam, and more significantly, decrease in the cash and commodity rents of the endowed properties