Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – December 22, 1995

Last night, at the end of the night, a group of relatives came from Rafsanjan. Hajiya's parents were also brought to Hosseinieh Jamaran after bathing and shrouding in Behesht Zahra. We went there and recited a Fatiha. Mr. [Sidmehdi] Imam Jamarani, [Head of Endowment and Charity Organization] also came; They brought some Qur'an reciters to stay awake until morning and read the Qur'an. After dinner, family members and relatives went to Hosseinieh and had a ceremony.

From the beginning, friends and relatives gathered. In Hosseiniyeh, there was mourning and recitation of the Quran. Around eleven o'clock in the morning, we went to Jamaran Square for the funeral. They took him to Tehran University and we went separately. Mr. [Mohammed] Yazdi performed the Friday prayer instead of me, and after the prayer, they recited the prayer for the dead. The body was buried as far as the Wali Asr intersection, but I was only able to bury it outside the university. The pressure of the crowd worried the guards and they stopped.

I went to my office. We had lunch and drove to Qom by car. For the first time, after the planting of trees on both sides of the Qom highway by Jihad-e-Haram named "Haram to Haram Project", I saw that it has become interesting. We arrived in Qom at three o'clock in the afternoon and went to the Imam Hassan (AS) mosque. A group of scholars and people; Inside the mosque and crowds of people were waiting on the street.

After a little mourning, the body was moved outside the mosque. I came to the street with difficulty. People's pressure and emotions prevented movement. I had to get in the car and we went near the shrine.

But the pressure of the crowd and strange screams did not console. I got off in the square next to the courtyard. I made it to the court with difficulty. The hall was full of people. We took refuge in a cell, until they opened the way and we went inside the shrine.

They were digging a grave in the [Balasar] Qibla Mosque, near the shrine door. We waited for a while until the grave arrived. Ashikh Mohammad [Hashemian] recited the incantation and our children put the body in the grave; I was very affected, but I was happy because of the good place of the grave; are happy I went to the courtyard and thanked the people of Qom with a short speech.

We went to the office. After praying and resting, we went to the new cemetery to visit the grave of our late father and from there we went to the Grand Mosque for the Fatiha ceremony, which was organized by the community of teachers [Qom Imamia] and Astana [Hazrat Masoumeh (PBUH)] and the administration council of the mosque. There were many scholars, students and people and they welcomed them warmly. Mr. [Mahmoud] Rostagari gave a good speech.

We had dinner at Astana office. We recited a eulogy on the grave of Haj Qasim's brother and returned to Tehran. Our families were waiting for us at home. On the routes, Ashikh Mohammad was with me everywhere.

During the Fatiha meeting, Mr. [Nasser] Makarem Shirazi got up and came and sat next to me and said about the Hozva; There is hope for improvement, but satisfaction is relative. He appreciated the recent resolution of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, regarding the [officialization of academic qualifications] of students. He asked me questions about the interpretation book of my guide.

Then Mr. Azimi, one of the other scholars of the field, came and asked for help for his cultural works. Also, Mr. [Ahmad] Azari [Qami] came and asked for his publishing works; Recently, he has lost support because of his positions.

During the programs, when Mr. [Ali Akbar] Masoudi [Khomeini, the founder of Hazrat Masoumeh (PBUH)] was usually with me, he praised the services of Astana. Mr. [Ebrahim] Amini, [Deputy Chairman of the Assembly of Experts], wanted the Assembly of Experts to take over the seventh night and I should also participate; I did not promise and postponed the investigation due to the possibility of my trip to Rafsanjan.

On the way back from Qom, we stopped at a gas station to use the toilet. On the way of Ashikh Mohammad [Hashemian], he talked about the issue of the endowment of Rab Rashidi and Salaruddin, which has been making a lot of noise recently and there are many suspicions about it. In the middle of the night, I had a severe heartache and slept with painkillers.