In this study we examined how a popular social networking tool, Telegram, and an Islamic economic tradition, qard-al-hasanah, connect in an innovative pattern to form a new ResourceCulture in a religious group in Mashhad. The pattern of this connection is significantly related to actors’ social definition of the good life, which is in our case defined more or less as material welfare. Interpreting actors’ conception of the good life requires qualitative methods. Hence, over the course of two years, we conducted participant observation and semi-structured interviews with founders, administrators, and members of a qard-al-hasanah, which provides interest-free loans to its members. In our case, membership in such a fund derives from regular participation in women's religious gatherings called rowzeh. While rowzehs have been traditionally oriented to religious rituals, recently many of them include a qard-al-hasanah fund as well. By contributing to the qard-alhasanah fund people (in this case women) can expect in turn to receive a loan. Therefore all eventually have the opportunity to alleviate or solve their economic problems. However, the fund has a meaning that transcends its monetary functions, because it is believed that it is God who contributes to the solving of people’s financial problems. The qard-al-hasanah fund is therefore blessed, and receiving a loan through it is analogous to receiving a blessing from God. Interviews showed that among members, the definition of the good life is so close to material welfare, which is very concrete. This indicates how important the fund’s material/financial aspect is to actors’ pursuit of the good life. However, the main focus of our research was not so much the actors’ conceptions of the good life. Rather, it is the peculiar pattern of ResourceCulture they employ to realize their conception of the good life. Recently members have begun to organize qard-al-hasanah funds via Telegram. This messaging service, widely used by Iranians in everyday life, allows people to form groups in which everyone can post messages and pictures. While a Telegram group has many similar functions to offline social groups, it allows people to overcome the limitations of time and place. It therefore prevents wasting time and facilitates honest interactions. The paper discusses how actors’ profane meaning of the good life is inter-related to the sacred context of rowzeh, and how they find it more trustworthy and efficient to move their qard-al-hasanah fund to a Telegram group.

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