''Ziyara(h)'' ( ''ziyārah'', "visit") or ''ziyarat'' (, ''ziyārat'', "pilgrimage"; , "visit") is a form of pilgrimage to sites associated with the Islamic prophet Muhammad, his family members and descendants (including the Shī'ī Imāms), his companions and other venerated figures in

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

such as the

prophets In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the ...

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

auliya, and

Islamic scholars In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

. Sites of pilgrimage include mosques, maqams, battlefields, mountains, and caves. ''Ziyārat'' can also refer to a form of supplication made by the

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

, in which they send salutations and greetings to

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

and his

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Terminology

''Ziyarat'' comes from "to visit". In Islam it refers to pious visitation, pilgrimage to a holy place, tomb or shrine.Gibb, H. A. R.; Kramers, J. H.; Lévi-Provençal, E.; Schacht, J.; Lewis, B.; Pellat, Ch., eds. (1960). ''The Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition'', Volume I: W–Z. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 524, 533–39. . Iranian and South Asian Muslims use the word ''ziyarat'' for both the

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

pilgrimage to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

as well as for pilgrimages to other sites such as visiting a holy place. In

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

the term is ''ziarah'' for visiting holy places or graves. Different

Muslim-majority countries The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is p ...

, speaking many different languages, use different words for these sites where ''ziyarat'' is performed: * ''Ziyāratgāh'' –

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

word meaning, "sites of Ziyarat" * ''Imāmzādeh'' – in Iran, tombs of the descendants of the Twelver Imāms * ''

Dargah A Sufi shrine or dargah ( ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargāh'' दरगाह درگاہ, ''dôrgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a Sufi saint or dervi ...

'' , Urdu, ; ; literally: "threshold, doorstep

f the interred holy person's spiritual sanctum F, or f, is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet and many modern alphabets influenced by it, including the modern English alphabet and the alphabets of all other modern western European languages. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounce ...

" the shrine is considered a "doorstep" to a spiritual realm) – in South Asia, Turkey and Central Asia for tombs of Sufi saints * ''Ziarat'' or ''Jiarat'' – in Southeast Asia * ''Ziyaratkhana'' – in South Asia (less common) * ''Gongbei'' ( zh, 拱北) – in China (from Persian ''gonbad'' "dome") * ''Mazar'' – a general term meaning a shrine, typically of a Shi'i Saint or noble. * ''Maqam'' – a shrine built on the site associated with a Muslim saint or religious figure.

Views

Sunni

More than any other tomb in the Islamic world, the shrine of Muhammad is considered a source of blessings for the visitor. A ''

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

'' of Muhammad states that, "He who visits my grave will be entitled to my intercession" and in a different version "I will intercede for those who have visited me or my tomb." Visiting Muhammad's tomb after the pilgrimage is recommended according to the majority of

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

legal scholars. The early scholars of the

salaf Salaf (, "ancestors" or "predecessors"), also often referred to with the honorific expression of al-salaf al-ṣāliḥ (, "the pious predecessors"), are often taken to be the first three generations of Muslims. This comprises companions of the ...

Ahmad Ibn Hanbal Ahmad ibn Hanbal (; (164-241 AH; 780 – 855 CE) was an Arab Muslim scholar, jurist, theologian, traditionist, ascetic and eponym of the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence—one of the four major orthodox legal schools of Sunni Islam. T ...

(d. 241 AH), Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh (d. 238 SH),

Abdullah ibn Mubarak Ibn Mubarak is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak (726–797), mystic and muhaddith * Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak (14 January 1551 – 22 August 1602), also known as Abul Faz ...

(d. 189 AH) and

Imam Shafi'i Al-Shafi'i (; ;767–820 CE) was a Muslim scholar, jurist, muhaddith, traditionist, theologian, ascetic, and eponym of the Shafi'i school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence. He is known to be the first to write a book upon the principles of Isl ...

(d. 204 AH) all permitted the practice of ''Ziyarah'' to Muhammad's tomb. According to the

Hanbali The Hanbali school or Hanbalism is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence, belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It is named after and based on the teachings of the 9th-century scholar, jurist and tradit ...

scholar

Al-Hasan ibn 'Ali al-Barbahari Hassan or Hasan ( ) is an Arabic masculine given name in the Muslim world. As a surname, Hassan may be Arabic, Irish, Scottish, or Jewish (Sephardic Jews, Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews, Mizrahic) (see Hassan (surname), Hassan as a surname). Ety ...

(d. 275 AH), it is also obligatory to send salutations (salam) upon

Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Abd Allah ibn Abi Quhafa (23 August 634), better known by his '' kunya'' Abu Bakr, was a senior companion, the closest friend, and father-in-law of Muhammad. He served as the first caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruling from 632 until his d ...

and ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab after having sent salutations upon Muhammad. The ''hadith'' scholar

Qadi Ayyad Abū al-Faḍl ʿIyāḍ ibn Mūsā ibn ʿIyāḍ ibn ʿAmr ibn Mūsā ibn ʿIyāḍ ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Mūsā ibn ʿIyāḍ al-Yaḥṣubī al-Sabtī (Camilo Gómez-Rivas, Islamic Legal Thought: A Compendium of Muslim Jurists, ...

(d. 544 AH) stated that visiting Muhammad was "a sunna of the Muslims on which there was consensus, and a good and desirable deed."

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (; 18 February 1372 – 2 February 1449), or simply ibn Ḥajar, was a classic Islamic scholar "whose life work constitutes the final summation of the science of hadith." He authored some 150 works on hadith, history, ...

(d. 852 AH) explicitly stated that travelling to visit the tomb of Muhammad was "one of the best of actions and the noblest of pious deeds with which one draws near to God, and its legitimacy is a matter of consensus." Similarly,

Ibn Qudamah Ibn Qudama (January/February 11477 July 1223) was an ulama, Islamic scholar and aqidah, theologian of the Hanbali, Hanbali school of Sunni Islam. Born in the Palestine (region), Palestine region, Ibn Qudama authored many important treatises on fi ...

(d. 620 AH) considered ''Ziyarat'' of Muhammad to be recommended and also seeking intercession directly from Muhammad at his grave. Other historic scholars who recommended ''Ziyarah'' include

Imam al-Ghazali Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111), archaically Latinization of names, Latinized as Algazelus, was a Shafi'i Sunni Muslim scholar and polymath. He is known as one of the most prominent and influential Faqih, jurisconsults, Principles of Islami ...

(d. 505 AH),

Imam Nawawi Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi (;‎ (631A.H-676A.H) (October 1230–21 December 1277) was a Sunni Shafi'ite jurist and hadith scholar.Ludwig W. Adamec (2009), ''Historical Dictionary of Islam'', pp.238-239. Scarecrow Press. . Al-Nawawi died at th ...

(d. 676 AH) and

Muhammad al-Munawi Muhammad 'Abd al-Ra'uf al-Munāwi (also Al-Manāwi) (), was a renowned Egyptian Islamic scholar of the Ottoman period. He was a prominent Shafi'i jurist, hadith specialist, historian, and mystic. He is considered one of the most greatest Sunni ...

(d. 1031 AH). The tombs of other Muslim religious figures are also respected. The son of

Ahmad ibn Hanbal Ahmad ibn Hanbal (; (164-241 AH; 780 – 855 CE) was an Arab Muslim scholar, jurist, theologian, traditionist, ascetic and eponym of the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence—one of the four major orthodox legal schools of Sunni Islam. T ...

named Abdullah, one of the primary jurists of Sunnism, reportedly stated that he would prefer to be buried near the shrine of a saintly person than his own father.

Salafi

Ibn Taymiyyah Ibn Taymiyya (; 22 January 1263 – 26 September 1328)Ibn Taymiyya, Taqi al-Din Ahmad, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195125580.001.0001/acref-9780195125580-e-959 was a Sunni Muslim ulama, ...

condemned all forms of seeking intercession from the dead, and said that all ''hadith'' encouraging visitation to Muhammad's tomb are fabricated (''mawdu‘''). This view of Ibn Taymiyyah was rejected by many

scholars, both during his life and after his death. The

Shafi'i The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionis ...

hadith master

stated that "This is one of the ugliest positions that has been reported of Ibn Taymiyya". The

Hanafi The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...

hadith scholar

Ali al-Qari Nur ad-Din Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Sultan Muhammad al-Hirawi al-Qari (; d. 1605/1606), known as Mulla Ali al-Qari () was an Afghan Islamic scholar. He was born in Herat, where he received his basic Islamic education. Thereafter, he travelled to M ...

stated that, "Amongst the Hanbalis, Ibn Taymiyya has gone to an extreme by prohibiting travelling to visit the Prophet – may God bless him and grant him peace" Qastallani stated that "The Shaykh Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyya has abominable and odd statements on this issue to the effect that travelling to visit the Prophet is prohibited and is not a pious deed."

Shia

There are reasons why Shī‘ah partake in ''Ziyarah'' which do not involve the worship of the people buried within the tombs. Ayatollah Borujerdi and

Ayatollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

have both said: The Shī‘ah do however perform Ziyarah, believing that the entombed figures bear great status in the eyes of God, and seek to have their prayers answered through these people (a form of

Tawassul Tawassul, is an Arabic word originated from 'wasilat'. The ''wasilah'' is a means by which a person, goal or objective is approached, attained or achieved. In another version of the meaning of tawassul in another text: Tawassul is an Arabic word t ...

) – Sayyid Muhammad Hasan Musawi writes: In this regard, Ibn Shu’ba al-Harrani also narrates a hadīth from the tenth Imām of the Twelver Shī‘as: The Ziyarah of the Imāms is also done by the Shī‘ah, not only as a means of greeting and saluting their masters who lived long before they were born, but also as a means of seeking nearness to God and more of His blessings (''

barakah In Islam, ''Barakah'' or ''Baraka'' ( "blessing") is a blessing power, a kind of continuity of spiritual presence and revelation that begins with God and flows through that and those closest to God. The Quran is said to be charged with ''barakah' ...

''). The Shī‘ah do not consider the ''hadith'' collected by

al-Bukhari Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Ibrāhīm al-Juʿfī al-Bukhārī (; 21 July 810 – 1 September 870) was a 9th-century Persian Muslim ''muhaddith'' who is widely regarded as the most important ''hadith'' scholar in the history ...

to be authentic, and argue that if things such as ''Ziyarah'' and ''Tawassul'' were innovations and ''shirk'',

himself would have prohibited people as a precaution, from visiting graves, or seeking blessings through kissing the sacred

black stone The Black Stone () is a rock set into the eastern corner of the Kaaba, the ancient building in the center of the Masjid al-Haram, Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is revered by Muslims as an Islamic relic which, according to Muslim tradi ...

at the

Ka‘bah The Kaaba (), also spelled Kaba, Kabah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaba al-Musharrafa (), is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is consi ...

. It is a popular Shi'i belief that to be buried near the burial place of the Imams is beneficial. In Shi'i sacred texts it is stated that the time between death and

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...

(''

barzakh Barzakh (Arabic: برزخ) is an Arabic word meaning "obstacle", "hindrance", "separation", or "barrier". In Islam, it denotes a place separating the living from the hereafter or a phase/"stage" between an individual's death and their resurrect ...

'') should be spent near the Imams.

References

External links

Ziyarat of Imam Husain

Shia views on Ziyarat

Archnet shrine directory, with pictures

Listing of ziyarat sites
{{Authority control Islamic pilgrimages Islamic terminology