Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – August 7, 1982

At six in the morning we went to the shrine for the ceremony. The shrine had been cordoned off. A hatch opened into the shrine's interior. We donned special garments together with Mr [Vaʿẓ] TabṢī and Messrs [ʿAṭāʾullāh] Ashrafī [Isfahānī], the Friday imam of Bakhtārān, and [Abū l-Ḥasan] Šīrāzī, the Friday imam of Mašhad, and [Sayyid Jalāl al-Dīn] Taheri, the Friday Imam of Isfahan, and I entered the shrine. The money that had been thrown into the shrine had, in two months and a few days, reached a height of one metre, covering an area of about eight square metres: banknotes, coins, jewellery and letters.

The companions, due to their weakness and old age, could not manage much effort. Mr [Vaez] Tabsi and I emptied the money out; about five million tomans – which will, of course, be counted and the exact amount announced – was sealed in forty-one bags. We then dusted the shrine and washed it with rosewater. It took two hours. Afterwards, I gave an interview to the television. A number of my companions were also around the shrine. The attendees were given a copy of the Qur'an, some of the dust, and some blessed nبات.

The heads of the various government departments and revolutionary institutions came, and I gave a speech to them. After the noon prayer, a group of doctors came. We looked at the plan for the square around the shrine and the plan for the reconstruction of Huweizeh, which the Astan Quds is to build. After a rest, I met with the clerical activists of Mashhad and then we went to the airport to depart for Tehran, arriving at half past six. I had a telephone conversation with Mr Khamenei about current affairs and the trip to India, about which we are still undecided. He said that Turkey had also put forward proposals regarding the war and damages, which were not accepted. In the evening, I rested, listened to the news and wrote up my overdue memoirs.