ABSTRACT
After investigating the legal system and shari‘a courts, this chapter examines an actual case of a dispute involving both the shari‘a courts and executive power. How did the Qajar shari‘a courts function as courts of justice for legal disputes? What was the relationship between the state and the shari‘a courts in the process of lawsuits? In order to answer these questions, the chapter investigates an actual case of what can be termed “the case of the double vaqf.” The first vaqf was established by a female member of the Qajar royal family, Hajiye Badr Nesa’ Khanom. One month after the vaqf was established, three sons of Yahya Khan Nasaqchi-bashi filed a lawsuit against the second vaqf-administrator, Molla Mohammad Hasan for possession of the village of Bord-abad. After hearing several testimonies of reliable witnesses in his shari‘a court, Haji Molla ‘Ali Asghar supported the first vaqf and proved that entire village of Bord-abad was vaqf property on behalf of Imam Husayn.
