Editing Pilgrimage (section)

===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>