Holiest sites in Shia Islam


In addition to the three mosques accepted by all Muslims as holy sites, Shi'ite Muslims consider sites associated with Muhammad, his family members and descendants, to be holy. After Mecca and Medina, Najaf, Karbala and Jerusalem are the most revered by Shias.

Holy sites accepted by all Muslims

Masjid al-Haram

Masjid al-Haram, is a large mosque in the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia and the second largest in Islam. It surrounds the Kaaba, the place which all Muslims turn towards each day in prayer, considered by Muslims to be the holiest place on Earth.
The current structure covers an area of including the outdoor and indoor praying spaces and can accommodate up to 820,000 worshippers during the Hajj period. During the Hajj period, the mosque is unable to contain the multitude of pilgrims, who pray on the outlining streets. More than 2 million worshippers gather to pray during Eid prayers.
According to the teachings of Islam, God in the Quran used the word mosque when referring to the sites established by Ibrahim and his progeny as houses of worship to God centuries before the revelation of the Quran. The first of these spots is Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and the second is Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Before Mecca and Jerusalem came under Muslim control between 630 AD and 638 AD, the site of the Kaaba, which was established by Abraham and Ishmael, was used by non-Muslim Arabs who worshipped multiple gods.

Al-Masjid an-Nabawi

Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, located in Medina, Saudi Arabia is the second holiest site in Islam.
The edifice was originally Muhammad's house; he settled there after his Hijra to Medina, and later built a mosque on the grounds. He himself shared in the heavy work of construction. The original mosque was an open-air building, with no gender separation. The mosque also served as a community center, a court, and a religious school. There was a raised platform for the people who taught the Quran. The basic plan of the building has been adopted in the building of other mosques throughout the world.
The original mosque was built by Muhammad and subsequent Islamic rulers greatly expanded and decorated the mosque. The most important feature of the site is the Green Dome over the center of the mosque, where the tomb of Muhammad is located. Constructed in 1817 CE and painted green in 1839, it is known as the Dome of the Prophet.

Other places associated with Muhammad

Al-Aqsa Mosque is a mosque which sits on the al-Ḥaram al-Šarīf in the Old City of Jerusalem, and is a holy site in both Shia and Sunni Islam. The silver domed al Aqsa Mosque sits, along with the Dome of the Rock, on the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, the place where the Temple is generally accepted to have stood.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is sacred because it was the first of the two Qiblas. Islamic tradition holds that Muhammad led prayers towards this site until the seventeenth month after the emigration, when God directed him to turn towards the Kaaba.
Muslims believe that Muhammad was transported by the Buraq from the Sacred Mosque in Mecca to al-Aqsa during the Night Journey. The mosque is also believed by many to be the area from where Muhammad is said to have ascended to heaven. According to some narrations, a single prayer performed at this mosque is the same as having performed 500 prayers elsewhere.

Tombs of Biblical prophets

Imam Ali Mosque

Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf, Iraq contains the tomb of:
Also buried within this mosque according to Shia Islam:
Ali was the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad. He is considered by Shia tradition to be the first legitimate caliph and the first Imam due to the proclamation given by Muhammad. The site is visited annually by at least 8 million pilgrims on average, which is estimated to increase to 20 million in years to come.
Many Shia believe that Ali did not want his grave to be desecrated by his enemies and consequently asked his friends and family to bury him secretly. This secret gravesite is supposed to have been revealed later during the Abbasid Caliphate by Ja'far al-Sadiq, the sixth Shia Imam. Most Shias accept that Ali is buried in the Imam Ali Mosque, in what is now the city of Najaf.
It has also been narrated from Ja'far al-Sadiq, the 6th Imam, that the Imam Ali Mosque is the third of five holy places: Mecca, Medina, Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf, Imam Husayn Shrine in Karbala, and the shrine of Fatima Masumeh in Qom.

Imam Husayn Shrine

Imam Husayn Shrine in Karbala, Iraq contains the tombs of:
The mosque stands on the site of the grave of Hussein ibn Ali, where he was martyred during the Battle of Karbala in 680. Up to a million pilgrims visit the city to observe the Day of Ashura, which marks the anniversary of Hussein ibn Ali's death. There are many Shia traditions which narrate the status of Karbala:

Al-Baqi'

Al-Baqi' is a cemetery located across from Al-Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Holy figures of interest to the Shia include:
It is also thought that the real grave of Fatimah, daughter of Muhammad, lies here as well.

Jannatul Mualla Cemetery

The Jannatul Mualla cemetery in Mecca, Saudi Arabia contains the graves of many relatives of Muhammad, held in high esteem by the Shia, including:
The Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque in Damascus, Syria contains the tomb of:
The Al Abbas Mosque is located directly across from the Imam Husayn Shrine, and contains the tomb of:
Millions of pilgrims visit the shrine and pay homage to it every year. The real grave of Abbas is beneath the masoulem, and is present in the shrine. Emperors and kings of various dynasties have offered valuable gifts and gems to the shrine of Abbas. It was designed by Persian and Central Asian architects. The central pear shaped dome is an ornately decorated structure. On its sides stand two tall minarets. The tomb is covered with pure gold and surrounded by a trellis of silver. Iranian carpets are rolled out on the floors.

Sayyidah Ruqayya Mosque

The Sayyidah Ruqayya Mosque in Damascus, Syria contains the tomb of:
The Bab al-Saghir cemetery in Damascus, Syria contains the graves of many relatives of Muhammad as well as sites related to the Battle of Karbala. Some of the figures laid to rest here include:
There are many tombs of the various descendants of the Imams. Some of them include:

Imam Reza Mosque

Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Iran contains the tomb of:
Ali al-Rida is believed, by members of the Shia, to have been poisoned there upon the orders of Caliph Al-Ma'mun and the place was subsequently called, Mashhad ar-Ridhā. By the end of the 9th century a dome was built on the grave and many buildings and bazaars sprang up around it. For years totalling more than a millennium, the mosque was destroyed and reconstructed several times.
Nowadays Imam al-Rida shrine in Mashhad, Iran, is a complex which contains the mausoleum of Ali al-Rida, the eighth of The Twelve Imams. Also found within the complex is a museum, library, cemetery, mosque and seminaries. Today the holy shrine and its museum hold one of the most extensive cultural and artistic treasuries of Iran, in particular manuscript books and paintings. Several important theological schools are associated with the shrine of the eighth Imam. As a city of great religious significance, it is also a place of pilgrimage. It is said that the rich go to Mecca but the poor journey to Mashhad. Thus, even as those who complete the pilgrimage to Mecca receive the title of Haji, those who make the pilgrimage to Mashhad–and especially to the Imam Rida shrine–are known as Mashtee, a term employed also of its inhabitants. It is thought that over 20 million Muslims a year make the pilgrimage to Mashhad. It is generally considered to be the holiest Shia shrine in Iran, and is sometimes ranked as the third holiest Shia shrine in the world.

Al-Kadhimiya Mosque

The Al-Kadhimiya Mosque in Baghdad, Iraq contains the tombs of:
Also buried within this mosque:
Some consider the mosque the third holiest in Shia Islam. Shrine of the 10th and 11th Twelver Shī‘ah Imāms

Al-Askari Mosque

The Al-Askari Mosque in Samarra, Iraq contains the tombs of:
Also buried within this mosque:
The cellar from which the twelfth or "Hidden" Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, disappeared from view is also found within this mosque.
At the time of the Al-Askari bombing in Samarra, it was reported that the mosque was one of Shia Islam's holiest sites, only exceeded by the shrines of Najaf and Karbala.

Mosques associated with the twelfth Shia Imam

The final Imam, considered to be alive and in occultation, has the following two mosques associated with him:
The Fatima Masumeh Shrine in Qom, Iran contains the tomb of:
Located in Qom, Iran, some consider the Fatima Masumeh Shrine to be the third holiest shrine in Shia Islam. The shrine has attracted to itself dozens of seminaries and religious schools. Shah Abbas I of Persia built the shrine complex in the early 17th century. in Rey

Tombs of other family members of Muhammad

in Kashmar

Holy Modern sites