Editing Pilgrimage (section)

==Islam==
{{Main|Hajj|Umrah}}
{{See also |Holiest sites in Islam|Mecca|Medina|Jerusalem}}
[[File:Kaaba,_Makkah6.jpg|thumb|[[Muslim]] pilgrims [[Tawaf|circumambulate]] the black cube of the ''[[Kaaba]]'' in the [[Al-Haram Mosque]]]]
The ''[[Hajj|Ḥajj]]'' ({{langx|ar|حَـجّ}}, main pilgrimage to Mecca) is one of the [[five pillars of Islam]] and a [[Fard|mandatory religious duty]] for [[Muslims]] that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and can support their family during their absence.<ref name=Marshall86>{{cite book |last=Long |first=Matthew |title=Islamic Beliefs, Practices, and Cultures |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H_m14NlQQMYC&pg=PA86 |access-date=2 September 2014 |year=2011 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish Corporation |isbn=978-0-7614-7926-0 |page=86}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Nigosian |first=S. A. |title= Islam: Its History, Teaching, and Practices |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=my7hnALd_NkC&pg=PA110 |year=2004 |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |location=[[Indiana]] |isbn=0-253-21627-3 |page=110}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/essays/islamic-practices |title=Islamic Practices |website=Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs |access-date=7 April 2017}}</ref> The Hajj is one of the largest annual gatherings of people in the world.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mosher |first=Lucinda |title=Praying: The Rituals of Faith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2b7fmfvpYZYC&pg=PA155 |access-date=18 September 2014 |year=2005 |publisher=Church Publishing, Inc. |isbn=9781596270169 |page=155}}</ref><ref name="time 2013">{{cite magazine | url=https://science.time.com/2013/10/16/as-the-hajj-unfolds-in-saudi-arabia-a-deep-look-inside-the-battle-against-mers/ | title=As the Hajj Unfolds in Saudi Arabia, A Deep Look Inside the Battle Against MERS | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=16 October 2013 | access-date=17 October 2013 | last=Katz |first=Andrew}}</ref> Since 2014, two or three million people have participated in the ''Hajj'' annually.<ref name="largest">{{cite web |title=The world's largest Muslim pilgrimage site? Not Mecca, but the Shiite shrine in Karbala |url=https://religionnews.com/2020/09/09/the-worlds-largest-muslim-pilgrimage-site-not-mecca-but-the-shiite-shrine-in-karbala/ |website=Religion News Service |access-date=14 September 2020 |date=9 September 2020}}</ref> The mosques in Mecca and Medina were closed in February 2020 because of the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia|COVID-19 pandemic]] and the ''hajj'' was permitted for only a very limited number of Saudi nationals and foreigners living in Saudi Arabia starting on 29 July.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hajj Begins in Saudi Arabia Under Historic COVID Imposed Restrictions |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/covid-19-pandemic_hajj-begins-saudi-arabia-under-historic-covid-imposed-restrictions/6193606.html |website=Voice of America |date=29 July 2020 |publisher=VOA |access-date=14 September 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

Another important place for Muslims is the city of Medina, the second holiest site in Islam, in Saudi Arabia, the final resting place of Muhammad in [[Al-Masjid an-Nabawi]] (The Mosque of the Prophet).<ref name=Syed>{{cite book|last1=Ariffin|first1=Syed Ahmad Iskandar Syed|title=Architectural conservation in Islam: case study of the Prophet's Mosque|date=2005|publisher=Penerbit Universiti Teknologi Malaysia|location=Skudai, Johor Darul Ta'zim, Malaysia|isbn=9835203733|edition=1st|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jP850CjN_voC|access-date=30 October 2016}}</ref>

The ''[[Ihram]]'' (white robe of pilgrimage) is meant to show equality of all Muslim pilgrims in the eyes of Allah. 'A white has no superiority over a black, nor a black over a white. Nor does an Arab have superiority over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab over an Arab - except through piety' - statement of the Prophet Muhammad.

===Ziyarat===
{{Main|Ziyarat}}

A different form of pilgrimage is [[ziyarat]] ({{langx|ar|زِيَارَة}} ''ziyārah'', "visit"; {{langx|fa|{{Nastaliq|زیارت}}}}, ''ziyārat''). Ziyarat generally refers to the act of visiting holy places such as tombs or shrines, often associated with the Prophet Muhammad, his family, companions, and other revered figures like legal scholars and Sufi saints. Ziyarat is a voluntary act of pilgrimage practiced by both Sunni and Shia Muslims.<ref name="ALSYED">{{cite web | title=The Importance of Ziyarat: Visiting Holy Sites Beyond Hajj and Umrah | url=https://alsyedtours.com/the-importance-of-ziyarat-visiting-holy-sites-beyond-hajj-and-umrah/ | access-date=12 October 2024 | website=AL SYED}}</ref><ref name="EncyIslam">{{cite encyclopedia | title=Ziyara | encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World | editor=Richard C. Martin | publisher=Macmillan Reference USA | year=2004 | volume=2 | pages=727–728}}. Available online at [Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/pilgrimage-ziyara).</ref> Unlike Hajj, which is obligatory for Muslims who are physically and financially able,<ref name="Britannica">{{cite web | title=Hajj | url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/hajj | access-date=12 October 2024 | website=Britannica}}</ref> or Umrah, which is highly recommended but not mandatory,<ref name="IslamicStudies">{{cite web | title=Fiqh Us-Sunnah | url=https://islamicstudies.info/subjects/fiqh/fiqh_us_sunnah/fus5_79.html | access-date=12 October 2024 | website=Islamic Studies}}</ref> Ziyarat involves visits to a variety of sacred and historically significant locations beyond Mecca. These include mosques, tombs, battlefields, mountains, caves, and other places where important spiritual or historical events in Islamic history took place.<ref name="CambridgeCore">{{cite journal | last=Kashani-Sabet | first=Firoozeh | title=Tohfeye Ziyarat (Souvenir of Pilgrimage): Religious Mobility and Public Health in Late Qajar Iran, c. 1890–1904 | journal=Iranian Studies | volume=56 | issue=4 | pages=507–534 | date=2023 | doi=10.1017/S0021086223000762 | doi-broken-date=13 November 2024 | url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/715A4608F3CE767A8FC0D3D187C29475/S0021086223000762a.pdf | access-date=12 October 2024}}</ref> It holds deep spiritual significance for millions of Muslims around the world.<ref name="Springer">{{cite journal | last=Molaei | first=A. | title=Strategies of Religious Tourism in Iranian and Islamic Cities Approaching Shiite Pilgrimage Culture | journal=Journal of Religion and Health | volume=17 | pages=67–94 | year=2023 | issue=1 | doi=10.1007/s10943-023-01943-z | pmid=37978098 | url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10943-023-01943-z | access-date=12 October 2024| url-access=subscription }}</ref>

One notable example is the [[Grand Magal of Touba]], {{convert|200|km|mi}} east of [[Dakar]], Senegal. About four million pilgrims participate annually to celebrate the life and teachings of [[Cheikh Amadou Bamba]], the founder of the [[Mouride]] brotherhood, who established the order in 1883. The pilgrimage begins on the 18th of [[Safar]], the second month of the Islamic calendar.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Holloway |first1=Beetle |title=Senegal's Grand Magal of Touba: A Pilgrimage of Celebration |url=https://theculturetrip.com/africa/senegal/articles/senegals-grand-magal-of-touba/ |website=Culture Trip |date=21 November 2018 |access-date=14 September 2020}}</ref>

While ziyarat is viewed as permissible and spiritually enriching by most Sunni and Shia traditions, some fundamentalist movements, such as Salafism and Wahhabism, discourage or oppose it. These movements are characterized by a strict, literalist interpretation of Islam and opposition to practices they consider innovations, such as shrine visitation.<ref name="EncyBritannica">{{cite web | title=Ziyarah | url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/ziyarah | access-date=12 October 2024 | website=Britannica}}</ref><ref name="EncyIslam" />

Ziyarat also includes the Ziyarat al-Imam, which refers specifically to the pilgrimage to the shrines of the Shia Imams, especially revered figures like Imam Ali and [[Husayn ibn Ali|Imam Hussein]]. The [[Arba'in pilgrimage]] is the world's largest pilgrimage and largest annual public gathering in the world, where millions of Shia Muslims travel to Karbala to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein during the 40-day mourning period after Ashura.<ref>{{cite web | title=Arbaeen: The Largest Pilgrimage You've Never Heard Of | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30009324 | website=BBC News | date=24 November 2014 | access-date=12 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Arbaeen Pilgrimage 2019: One of World's Largest Religious Gatherings Kicks Off | url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/16/arbaeen-pilgrimage-2019-one-of-worlds-largest-religious-gatherings-kicks-off | publisher=Al Jazeera | date=16 October 2019 | access-date=12 October 2024}}</ref>

===Shia===
{{Main|Arba'in pilgrimage|Arba'in|Ashura|Imam Reza}}
[[File:Arba'een_Pilgrimage_In_mehran_City,_Iran,_Shia_Muslim_24.jpg|thumb|[[Arba'een Pilgrimage|Arba'een pilgrims]] in [[Mehran, Ilam|Mehran]]]]

[[Arba'in|''Al-Arba‘īn'']] ({{langx|ar|ٱلْأَرْبَـعِـيْـن}}, "The Forty"), ''Chehelom'' ({{langx|fa|{{Nastaliq|چهلم}}}}, {{langx|ur|{{Nastaliq|چہلم}}}}, "the fortieth [day]") or ''Qirkhī'', ''Imāmīn Qirkhī'' ({{langx|az|İmamın qırxı}} ({{langx|ar|إمامین قیرخی}}), "the fortieth of Imam") is a [[Shia]] Muslim religious observance that occurs [[40 (number)|forty]] days after the [[Day of Ashura]]. It commemorates the [[martyrdom]] of [[Husayn ibn Ali]], the grandson of [[Muhammad]], which falls on the 20th or 21st day of the month of [[Safar]]. [[Imam]] Husayn ibn Ali and 72 companions were killed by [[Yazid I]]'s army in the [[Battle of Karbala]] in 61&nbsp;AH (680 [[Common Era|CE]]). Arba'een or forty days is also the usual length of mourning after the death of a family member or loved one in many Muslim traditions. Arba'een is one of the largest pilgrimage gatherings on Earth, in which up to 31 million people go to the city of [[Karbala]] in [[Iraq]].<ref>{{cite web|author=uberVU – social comments |url=http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/02/05/friday-46-iraqis-1-syrian-killed-168-iraqis-wounded/ |title=Friday: 46 Iraqis, 1 Syrian Killed; 169 Iraqis Wounded - Antiwar.com |publisher=Original.antiwar.com |date=5 February 2010 |access-date=30 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Aljazeera |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/articles/34/41-Martyrs-as-More-than-Million-People-Mark-Arbae.html |title=alJazeera Magazine – 41 Martyrs as More than Million People Mark 'Arbaeen' in Holy Karbala |publisher=Aljazeera.com |access-date=30 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/blast-kills-27-in-iraqi-shiite-city-of-karbala-83628687/111949.html |title=Powerful Explosions Kill More Than 40 Shi'ite Pilgrims in Karbala |publisher=Voice of America |date=5 February 2010 |access-date=30 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/blast-in-crowd-kills-41-shiite-pilgrims-in-iraq-20100205-nivg.html |title=Blast in crowd kills 41 Shiite pilgrims in Iraq |publisher=News.smh.com.au |date=5 February 2010 |access-date=30 June 2010 | first=Abdelamir | last=Hanun}}</ref>

The second largest holy city in the world, [[Mashhad]], Iran, attracts more than 20 million tourists and pilgrims every year, many of whom come to pay homage to [[Imam Reza]] (the eighth [[Shi'ite]] Imam). It has been a magnet for travelers since medieval times.<ref name="Imam Reza">{{cite web |url=http://www.sacredsites.com/middle_east/iran/mashad.htm |title=Sacred Sites: Mashhad, Iran |access-date=13 March 2006 |publisher=sacredsites.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127181619/http://sacredsites.com/middle_east/iran/mashad.htm |archive-date=27 November 2010 }}</ref><ref name="largest" />