I did what I was Obligated to Do!

I did what I was Obligated to Do!" As I remember I would go over (to his place) every morning after teaching Makasib*,* which I taught in the exterior room (of his house) and sometimes I would go early evenings. One day, most probably a Wednesday, he sent me a special message to see him for some task. I went to see him that day. There was a big iron chest before him, and Agha Haj Sayyid Ahmad Zanjani[^3] was sitting in front of him.

He gave the documents and title deeds to Agha Zanjani and all the cash in the chest to me to spend in certain ways, allotting some of it as my portion. He had already written his will in several copies and sent one to me which I still have. He had some money in Najaf, in Tabriz, and in Qum with the late Haj Muhammad Husayn Yazdi, who was one of the executors to my late father (ra).

He (Ayatollah Hujjat) had stated in his will that all the money which had been trusted to his representatives was sahm-i Imam (portion belonging to the Imam al-'Asr (aj)), and the piece of land - it later on formed a big part of the Masjid of Agha Burujirdi - which he had bought for madrasa and was in his own name.

He had stated in his will that the piece of land also belonged to the Holy Imam (aj) and could not be bequeathed, but - apparently - if Agha Burujirdi wanted for the masjid it could be given to him. His cash simply included the money in the chest and he had been refusing to receive the religious taxes and legal alms (wujuhat-i shari ) for the past few days.

However, Agha Zanjani seemed to be receiving the wujuhat who began to pay the monthly salary (shahriyeh to talabas) since the first month after the demise of Ayatollah Hujjat. There was only a few coins under his pillow which upon his falling sick, his daughter-i.e., my wife-took from his pocket to be kept under his pillow until he got better and then to be given as alms-as was a popular custom with the women of the past and I was familiar with this custom too.

It seemed that the money was kept as a kind of pawn to be given as alms after the patient would recover. That was the only money left which Agha (Ayatollah Hujjat) did not know about. When he gave the money in the chest to me to spend in the due way, he said while raising his hands to the sky: "O God! I did what I was obligated to do, you take my life, now!"[^4] "My Death will be at Noon" Having been more intimate with him, I said: 'Agha you are afraid so much for no reason!