The Holiest Sites In Islam

Islam is one of the most popular religions in the world. Behind Christianity, it is the most widespread and practiced religion with more than 1 billion followers, and it has expanded considerably since its origins in Mecca (per "The Complete Illustrated Guide to Islam"). Practitioners of Islam are referred to as Muslims, and the language of Islam is called Arabic. The founder of Islam was the Prophet Muhammad, who created the religion in the early seventh century.

The Prophet Muhammad is the most important figure in Islam, and his teachings are seen as a guide by Muslims on how they should behave and lead their own lives. The central and most sacred religious text in Islam is known as the Quran (or Koran), which was received by Muhammad from God. Apart from the Quran, there are many important Islamic sites that Muslims visit in order to pray and feel connected with Islamic religious history. Many of these sites are located in modern-day Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Palestine, but there are countless others spread throughout the Middle East, and indeed the entire world. Let's take a deeper look at some of the holiest sites in Islam.

The Kaaba: The Holiest Site In Islam

Of all the sacred and important sites in Islam, the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia is by far the holiest. As John L. Esposito explains in "What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam," the Kaaba is particularly revered by Muslims due to its connections with the Judeo-Christian patriarch Abraham (Ibrāhīm in Islam). According to Muslims, inside the cube-shaped Kaaba is the sacred Black Stone. Per Islamic legend, the Black Stone is an ancient meteorite representative of God's covenant with Ibrāhīm.

The Kaaba, which means House of God, is thought to have been first built by Adam (the first biblical human) and is thus the oldest house of worship for the Judeo-Christian God in the world. The original structure was destroyed by the biblical flood and was eventually taken over by the Quraysh tribe. Muhammad is said to have cleansed the Kaaba of the Quraysh's idols and polytheism, thus reclaiming the site for Judeo-Christianity. He placed the Black Stone at the Kaaba as a testament to faith.

Today, Muslims recreate Muhammad's journey to the Kaaba as part of a pilgrimage known as Hajj. They consider the Kaaba to be the Earth's spiritual center, and it is considered a sacred and mandatory duty by all Muslims to perform the Hajj and visit Mecca during their lifetime. Roughly two million Muslims embark on the Hajj annually, and the Kaaba is the first stop on their journey once in Mecca.

The Al-Masjid Al-Ḥarām: The Great Mosque Of Mecca

Housing the holiest site in Islam, the Kaaba, is the Great Mosque of Mecca. Its Arabic name is al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, which means Holy Mosque or Haram Mosque (via Britannica). It is located in the heart of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and hosts millions of visitors every year. In addition to the Kaaba, worshippers also visit the Zamzam Well in the mosque, as well as the ancient al-Ṣafā and al-Marwah hills surrounding it. As part of the Hajj, worshippers gather in the Great Mosque's courtyard and walk in a circle around the Kaaba as a ritual celebration called ṭawāf.

Most of the Great Mosque was built in the recent past, with the oldest parts belonging to the 16th century. The original mosque was first built in 638 C.E. by some of the earliest Muslims, but there have been constant renovations since. The 20th century saw the most dramatic modernization improvements to the Great Mosque, with comforts like air conditioning, electricity, and a PA system being added.

Another important part of the Great Mosque is the Station of Ibrāhīm (Abraham), also known as the Maqām Ibrāhīm. According to the Islamic cultural website The Pilgrim, the Station of Ibrāhīm is a rock that Ibrahim stood on when he was building the Kaaba with his son Ismail. The rock miraculously rose out of the ground to help Ibrāhīm build the wall.

Ḥaram Al-ʾImām ʿAlī: The Mosque Of Alī

For Shia Muslims, one of their holiest sites is the Ḥaram al-ʾImām ʿAlī, or the Imam Alī Holy Shrine (also known as the Mosque of Alī) in Najaf, Iraq. According to the "Illustrated Muslim Dictionary of the World," the tombs of biblical patriarchs Noah and Adam are located within the shrine along with Alī, which was first built in the 10th century by Persians. The reason the site is so holy for Shia Muslims is that it is the site where Imam Alī was killed in the seventh century.

Imam Alī is one of the most important figures in Shia Islam (per Britannica). He was the son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet Muhammad and the final of his first four successors. His reign was tumultuous, to say the least, and he consistently had to deal with disputes and internal rebellions. In 661 C.E., Alī was murdered by a poisoned sword, becoming a Shia martyr. He is revered by Shia Muslims due to his connection to Muhammad and is considered by them to be the first Imam — or first descendant of Muhammad.

The site of the Mosque of Alī is built directly where Alī was assassinated — hence its incredible significance for Muslims. Since the mid-20th century, the mosque has unfortunately been occupied at various times by political and military forces, but it is still an important religious site for Shia worshippers.

The Imam Ḥusayn Shrine In Karbala

Another incredibly sacred and holy spot for Shia Muslims is the Imam Ḥusayn Shrine in Karbala, Iraq. According to Britannica, Ḥusayn was the son of Alī, and he did not recognize the authority of his father's posthumous successor, Muʿāwiyah, his son, Yazīd, or the Umayyad Caliphate. While marching to reclaim the Islamic caliphate in favor of Alī's line, Ḥusayn was killed at Karbala in 680 C.E., making him forever a martyr to Shia Muslims. He is considered the third Imam by Shia Islams, after his father Alī and older brother Ḥasan.

Following his death, Muslims started to visit his grave ritualistically, and eventually, the city of Karbala was built surrounding it (per the Islamic cultural website al-Islam). Shia Muslims from around the world visit the Imam Ḥusayn Shrine, and many worshippers traverse the area between Ḥusayn's shrine in Karbala and his father's shrine in Najaf as a spiritual pilgrimage. Within four years of his death, there was already a mosque built over his grave, and it was the site of constant construction and subsequent destruction for centuries. The entire shrine sits on an incredible 4,425 meters of space and has 10 gates, 65 rooms, various tombs, and a garden.

Al-Masjid An-Nabawi: The Prophet Muhammad's Mosque

Besides the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the second holiest place among all Muslims is the Prophet Muhammad's Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Per "The Oxford Dictionary of Islam," Muhammad's Mosque was the first mosque to be built in Islam, and it was Muhammad who built it. He and his family lived in the mosque when they first moved to Medina, and it was also a spiritual and religious center where he would lead prayers. His remains are buried in the mosque and have been there since he died in the seventh century. 

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