ABSTRACT
No one can deny that a waqf document is one of the most important sources on
the social history of the Islamic world. This is also true of the history of Qajar
Iran, although it had been neglected until quite recently. Waqf influenced the
urban development of Tehran that had only become the capital under the Qajars;
many new buildings such as Masjid-i Shah (Masjid-i Imam), Madrasah-|i Marvi, Madrasah-i Sepahsalar (Madrasah-i Muttahari) were financed through the waqf
system. Religious ceremonies of the people like ta\ziyah (the mourning ceremony on behalf of Imam Husayn) were also supported by waqfs.2 Moreover,
a considerable number of the surviving documents will make it possible to
rewrite social history of the period.3
