WThere are holy sites, which are mentioned or referred to in the Quran, that are considered sacred to Islam. Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia are the two holiest cities in Islam, unanimous among all sects. In the Islamic tradition, the Kaaba in Mecca is considered the holiest site, followed by the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem are held in high esteem. There are sacred sites located in Mecca; Mina, Arafat, and Muzdalifah.
WSafa and Marwa are two small hills, connected to the larger Abu Qubais and Qaiqan mountains, respectively, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, now made part of the Masjid al-Haram. Muslims travel back and forth between them seven times in what is known as Sa'ee ritual pilgrimages of Ḥajj and Umrah.
WBayn al-Haramayn, also transliterated as Bainul Haramain, is the area between the Imam Husayn Shrine and al-Abbas Shrine, which is a distance of 378 meters. It is said to be the exact place where the fighting in the Battle of Karbala took place.
WThe destruction of heritage sites associated with early Islam is an ongoing phenomenon that has occurred mainly in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, particularly around the two holiest cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina. The demolition has focused on mosques, burial sites, homes and historical locations associated with the Islamic prophet Muhammad, his companions, and many of the founding personalities of early Islamic history by the Saudi government. In Saudi Arabia, many of the demolitions have officially been part of the continued expansion of the Masjid al-Haram at Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina and their auxiliary service facilities in order to accommodate the ever-increasing number of Muslims performing the pilgrimage (hajj).
WDjamaa el Djazaïr, also known as the Great Mosque of Algiers, is a mosque in Algiers, Algeria. It houses the world's tallest minaret and is the third-largest mosque in the world after the Great Mosque of Mecca and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi of Medina in Saudi Arabia.
WThe Foundation Stone, or the Noble Rock is the rock at the centre of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. It is also known as the Pierced Stone because it has a small hole on the southeastern corner that enters a cavern beneath the rock, known as the Well of Souls.
WThe Great Mosque of Kufa, or Masjid al-Kufa, is located in Kufa, Iraq and is one of the earliest and holiest surviving mosques in the world. The mosque, built in the 7th century, was home to Ali ibn Abi Talib, the 4th Rashidun caliph; and contains the remains of Maytham al-Tammar, Ali's companion; Muslim ibn Aqeel, first cousin of Imām Husayn ibn Ali, his companion Hani ibn Urwa; and the revolutionary, Al-Mukhtar. In recent history, the mosque has seen numerous renovations primarily under the purview of the Dawoodi Bohras, led by Mufaddal Saifuddin.
WMasjid al-Haram, also known as the Great Mosque of Mecca, is a mosque that surrounds the Kaaba in Mecca, in the Makkah Province of Saudi Arabia. It is a site of pilgrimage in the Hajj, which every Muslim must do at least once in their lives if able, and is also the main phase for the ʿUmrah, the lesser pilgrimage that can be undertaken any time of the year. The rites of both pilgrimages include circumambulating the Kaaba within the mosque. The Great Mosque includes other important significant sites, including the Black Stone, the Zamzam Well, Maqam Ibrahim, and the hills of Safa and Marwa.
WThe Holy Land is an area roughly located between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea that also includes the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River. Traditionally, it is synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy Land" usually refers to a territory roughly corresponding to the modern State of Israel, the Palestinian territories, western Jordan, and parts of southern Lebanon and of southwestern Syria. Jews, Christians, and Muslims all regard it as holy.
WAl-Rusafa or Al-Rasafa is one of the nine administrative districts in Baghdad, Iraq, on the eastern side of the River Tigris. It is one of the old quarters of Baghdad, situated in the heart of the city, and is home to a number of public squares housing important monumental artworks.
WJabal an-Nour is a mountain near Mecca in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia. The mountain houses the grotto or cave of Hira', which holds tremendous significance for Muslims throughout the world, as the Islamic Nabī (Prophet) Muhammad is said to have spent time in this cave meditating, and it is widely believed that it was here that he received his first revelation, which consisted of the first five ayats of Surah Al-Alaq from the angel Jibra'il. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Makkah. The mountain itself is barely 640 m (2,100 ft) tall; nonetheless one to two hours are needed to make the strenuous hike to the cave. There are 1750 steps to the top which, even for a fit individual, can take anywhere between half an hour and one-and-a-half hours.
WJerusalem is a city in the Middle East, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, and is considered holy to the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Both Israel and the Palestinian Authority claim Jerusalem as their capital, as Israel maintains its primary governmental institutions there and the State of Palestine ultimately foresees it as its seat of power; however, neither claim is widely recognized internationally.
WThere are holy sites, which are mentioned or referred to in the Quran, that are considered sacred to Islam. Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia are the two holiest cities in Islam, unanimous among all sects. In the Islamic tradition, the Kaaba in Mecca is considered the holiest site, followed by the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem are held in high esteem. There are sacred sites located in Mecca; Mina, Arafat, and Muzdalifah.
WAl-Kadhimiya Mosque or Al-Kadhimayn Shrine is a Shi'ite Islamic mosque and shrine located in the Kādhimayn suburb of Baghdad, Iraq. It contains the tombs of the seventh and ninth Twelver Shī'ī Imāms, respectively Mūsā al-Kāẓim and his grandson Muhammad al-Jawad. Also buried within the premises of this mosque are the historical scholars Shaykh Mufīd and Shaykh Naṣīr ad-Dīn aṭ-Ṭūsi. Directly adjacent to the mosque are two smaller shrines, belonging to the brothers Sayyid Raḍī and Sayyid Murtadā.
WThe Maqām Ibrāhīm is a small square stone associated with Ibrahim (Abraham), Ismail (Ishmael) and their rebuilding of the Kaaba in what is now the Great Mosque of Mecca in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia. According to Islamic tradition, the imprint on the stone came from Ibrahim's feet.
WThe Mazor Mausoleum is one of the best preserved Roman buildings in Israel, located in El'ad. The Mausoleum, which is the only Roman era building in Israel to still stand from its foundations to its roof, was built for an important Roman man and his wife in the 3rd century AD. Their identities remain a mystery but one can still see the remnants of two sarcophagi in the mausoleum.
WMecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah and commonly shortened to Makkah, is the holiest city in Islam and the capital of the Makkah Province of Saudi Arabia. The city is 70 km (43 mi) inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley 277 m (909 ft) above sea level. Its last recorded population was 1,578,722 in 2015. The estimated metro population in 2020 is 2.042 million, making it the third-most populated city in the kingdom. Pilgrims more than triple this number every year during the Ḥajj pilgrimage, observed in the twelfth Hijri month of Dhūl-Ḥijjah.
WThe Gate of Mecca, Mecca Gate or Makkah Gate, also known as Qur'an Gate, is an arch gateway monumental on the Makkah al-Mukkarramah road of the Jeddah–Makkah Highway. It is the entrance to Mecca, the birthplace of prophet Muhammad and signifies the boundary of the haram area of the city of Mecca, where non-Muslims are prohibited to enter.
WMedina, officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah, commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah, is one of the three holiest cities in Islam and the capital of the Medina Region of Saudi Arabia. The 2020 estimated population of the city is 1,488,782, making it the fourth-most populous city in the country. Located at the core of the Madinah Province in the western reaches of the country, the city is distributed over 589 square kilometers, 293 km2 of which constitutes the city's urban area, while the rest is occupied by the Hejaz mountain range, empty valleys, agricultural spaces, older dormant volcanoes and the Nafud desert.
WThe Mīqāt Dhu al-Ḥulayfah, also known as Masjid ash-Shajarah or Masjid Dhu al-Hulayfah, is a mosque in Abyār ʿAlī, Medina, west of Wadi al-'Aqiq, believed by Muslims to be the location where the final Islamic prophet, Muhammad, entered the state of ihram before performing 'Umrah, after the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. The mosque is located 7 km (4.3 mi) SW of the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi and was defined by Muhammad as the miqat for those willing to perform the Hajj or Umrah pilgrimages from Medina. It is the second-largest miqat mosque after the Miqat Qarn al-Manazil in As-Sayl al-Kabir.
WMount Betarim is one of the peaks of Mount Dov. According to one Jewish tradition this is the site of the covenant of the pieces between Abraham and God. According to Muslim tradition, this is the site in which an event occurred, which is described in the Quran, where God commanded Abraham to sacrifice four species of birds, and afterwards resurrected them. Therefore, it was called in Arabic "Mashhad A-Tir al-Ibrahim" meaning "The sacred site of Abraham's birds" or "Makam Ibrahim Al-Khalil" (مقام إبراهيم الخليل) meaning "The sacred site of Abraham, God's friend".
WAl-Masjid an-Nabawi, known in English as The Prophet's Mosque, and also known as Al Haram, Al Haram Al Madani and Al Haram Al Nabawi by locals, is a mosque built by the last Islamic prophet Muhammad in the city of Medina in the Al Madinah Province of Saudi Arabia. It was the second mosque built by prophet Muhammad in Medina, after Masjid Quba'a, and is now one of the largest mosques in the world. It is the second holiest site in Islam, after the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. It is generally open regardless of date or time, and has only been closed to visitors once in modern times, as Ramadan approached during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
WAl-Nabi Rubin was a Palestinian village in central Palestine region, what is now Israel, located 14.5 kilometers (9.0 mi) west of Ramla, just northeast of Yibna and 18 kilometers (11 mi) south of Jaffa. The village was situated on the southern banks of Wadi al-Sarar, known in Hebrew as Sorek Stream, at an elevation of 25 meters (82 ft) above sea level. Nabi Rubin is named after a shrine in the village, believed by Muslims to be the tomb of Reuben. It was captured by the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the inhabitants were expelled.
WThe Nebi Akasha Mosque, also Okasha mosque or Ukasha mosque, is a historic mosque and maqam located in Jerusalem.
WRabigh is a city and governorate in the Makkah Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, situated on the coast of the Red Sea, around 208 km (129 mi) northwest of Mecca in the historic Hejaz region. The city had an estimated population of 180,352 in 2014 and is situated at an elevation of 13 m (43 ft) above sea level, close to the border with the Madinah Province. The city dates back to Pre-Islamic Arabia and up to the 17th century, was known as al-Juhfah, or al-Johfah.
WThe Sayyidah Ruqayyah Mosque is located in Damascus, Syria, and contains the grave of Sukayna bint Husayn, also known as Ruqayyah, the young daughter of Al-Husayn ibn ‘Alī.
WSayyidah Zaynab Mosque is a mosque located in the city of Sayyidah Zaynab, in the southern suburbs of Damascus, Syria. According to Twelver Shia Muslim tradition, the mosque contains the grave of Zaynab, the daughter of ‘Alī and Fātimah and granddaughter of Muhammad. Sunni Muslim and Ismaili Shia tradition place Zaynab's tomb in the mosque of the same name in Cairo, Egypt. The tomb became a centre of Twelver religious studies in Syria and a destination of mass pilgrimage by Twelver Shia Muslims from across the Muslim world, beginning in the 1980s. The zenith of visitation normally occurs in the summer. The present-day mosque that hosts the tomb was built in 1990.
WSheikh Hussein is a town in south-eastern Ethiopia. Located in the Bale Zone of the Oromia Region, it has a longitude and latitude of 7°45′N 40°42′E with an elevation of 1386 meters above sea level. The Central Statistical Agency has not published an estimate for this town's 2005 population.
WThe Sidna 'Ali Mosque is a mosque located in the depopulated village of Al-Haram on the beach in the northern part of Herzliya in Israel. It served, as of 1998, as both a mosque and a religious school.
WThe Status Quo is an understanding among religious communities with respect to nine shared religious sites in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Other Holy Places in Israel and Palestine were not deemed subject to the Status Quo because the authorities of one religion or of one community within a religion are in recognized or effective possession.
WWadi-us-Salaam is an Islamic cemetery, located in the Shia holy city of Najaf, Iraq. It is the largest cemetery in the world. The cemetery covers 1,485.5 acres and contains tens of millions of bodies. It also attracts millions of pilgrims annually.