Holiest sites in Islam

There are numerous sites in Islam that are considered holiest to the religion.

Mecca and Hajj

Mecca seen from Jabal al-Nour

Mecca is considered the holiest city in Islam. Only Muslims are allowed to enter Mecca.^[1] As one of the Five Pillars of Islam,^[2] every adult Muslim who is capable must perform the Hajj - a pilgrimage to Mecca - at least once in their lifetime.^[3] This obligation is only fulfilled if it is done on the eighth to twelfth day of the last month of the Islamic calendar.^[4]

Hajj is one of the largest annual Muslim gatherings in the world, only second to pilgrimages to the shrine of Hussain in Karbala, with attendance reaching 3 million in 2012.^[5] If, in a given year, an adult Muslim is in good health and his life and wealth is safe, they must perform the Hajj in the same year; delaying it is considered sinful unless the delay is caused by reasons beyond his/her control.^[6]

See also

• Holiest sites in Sunni Islam
• Holiest sites in Shia Islam
• Holiest sites in Sufi Islam

References

1. Tucker & Roberts 2008, p. 673.
2. Musharraf 2012, p. 195.
3. Peters 1994, p. 22.
4. Musharraf 2012, p. 205.
5. Blatt 2015, p. 27.
6. Musharraf 2012, pp. 204-205.

Bibliography

• Peters, Francis (1994). The Hajj: The Muslim Pilgrimage to Mecca and the Holy Places. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691026190.
• Musharraf, Hussain (2012). The Five Pillars of Islam: Laying the Foundations of Divine Love and Service to Humanity. Leicestershire, UK: Kube Publishing. ISBN 9781847740236.
• Blatt, Amy (2015). Health, Science, and Place: A New Model. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-12003-4. ISBN 3319120026.
• Tucker, Spencer; Roberts, Priscilla (2008). The encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli conflict : a political, social, and military history. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1851098410.