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Mecca and Medina are recognized as the two most important sites in Islam. Based on scriptural references, the Al-Aqsa Mosque is widely and commonly referred to as the "third holiest site in Islam." Al-Aqsa mosque was the first of the two qiblas (direction in which Muslims pray), was the site the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven, is one of only three mosques allowed for muslims to deliberately journey to, and prayer inside the mosque is 500 times greater than other sites (not including Mecca and Medina).
Mosques other than Al-Aqsa Mosque have been referred to as the "third holiest site in Islam" based on other considerations. None of these sites are mentioned in the Qur'an or Prophetic hadith because all of those sites are constructed after Muhammad's death and the Quran's completion.
Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims
Al-Aqsa Mosque
In terms of the "virtue" of a religious site, and the value of prayers performed within it, Muslims believe that the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem is the third holiest site based on scripture. The Sahih Bukhari quotes Abu al-Dardaa as saying: "the Prophet of Allah Muhammad said a prayer in the Sacred Mosque (in Mecca) is worth 100,000 prayers; a prayer in my mosque (in Medina) is worth 1,000 prayers; and a prayer in al-Masjid al-Aqsa (in Jerusalem) is worth 500 prayers more than in an any other mosque.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque is considered the third most important Islamic site based a scriptural reference stating that, along with Mecca and Medina, it was visited by Muhammad during his lifetime: Abu Huraira is quoted as saying that Allah’s Messenger said.
- "... Not to travel (for visiting) except for three mosques: Masjid-al-Haram (in Mecca), my Mosque (in Medina), and Masjid-al-Aqsa (in Jerusalem)"
- Abu Dharr is quoted as saying, I asked the beloved Prophet Muhammad which was the first mosque on earth? ‘The Sacred Mosque’ (in Mecca), he said. And then which, I asked? Masjid al Aqsa, he said. I further asked, what was the time span between the two? ‘Forty years,’ the Prophet replied. Sahih Muslim
The Quran also refers to Al-Aqsa mosque multiple times.
So her Lord accepted her (Mary) with a good acceptance and made her grow up a good growing, and gave her into the charge of Zakariya; whenever Zakariya entered the sanctuary (Al-Aqsa Mosque) to (see) her, he found with her food. He said: O Maryam! whence comes this to you? She said: It is from Allah. Surely Allah gives to whom He pleases without measure.
— Qur'an,
Then the angels called to him as he stood praying in the sanctuary (Al-Aqsa Mosque): That Allah gives you the good news of Yahya verifying a Word from Allah, and honorable and chaste and a prophet from among the good ones.
— Qur'an,
Glory be to Him Who made His servant (Muhammad) to go on a night from the Sacred Mosque to the remote mosque of which We have blessed the precincts, so that We may show to him some of Our signs; surely He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
— Qur'an,
If you (Israelites) do good, you will do good for your own souls, and if you do evil, it shall be for them. So when the second promise came (We raised another people) that they may bring you to grief and that they may enter the mosque (Al-Aqsa Mosque) as they entered it the first time, and that they might destroy whatever they gained ascendancy over with utter destruction.
— Qur'an,
So he (Zakariya) went forth to his people (Israelites) from his place of worship (Al-Aqsa Mosque), then he made known to them that they should glorify (Allah) morning and evening.
— Qur'an,
Shia Muslims
Imam Ali Mosque, Iraq
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Many sources refer to the Imam Ali Mosque, in Najaf, Iraq, as the third holiest site for the Shiite branch of Islam. With an estimated 130 million followers worldwide, this accounts for approximately 10% of all Muslims. It is estimated that only Mecca and Medina receive more Muslim pilgrims.
It has also been reported in the name of Imam Sardeg (Imam-Jaafar Al-Sadeq, the Sixth Twelver of Shia) that the Imam Ali mosque is the third of five holy places: Mecca, Medina, the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, the Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala, and the shrine for Fatemah in Qom.
There are even those who claim that the Imam Ali shrine is the second holiest site after Mecca
Imam Husayn Shrine, Iraq
According to the Public Broadcasting Service, the Imam Husayn Shrine in Karbala is the holiest site outside of Meca and Medina. This view was also agreed to by the British public broadcast network, Channel 4.
Al Askari Mosque, Iraq
At the time of the Al Askari Mosque bombing, it was reported that the mosque was one of Shiite Islam's holiest sites, only exceeded by the shrines of Najaf and Karbala.
Al Kadhimiya Mosque, Iraq
After the bombing of the Al Kadhimiya Mosque, Middle East correspondent of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Nahlah Ayed, reported that “Well, it had been a very quiet crowd just walking around, milling around, and then the first of the bombs went off. People didn't really know what was going on until the second bomb went off and it blew up in a fiery ball right in front of the Kadhimiya Mosque, the third holiest site for Shia Muslims.”
Other reports after the bombing also referred to the shrine as the third-holiest in Shiite Islam.
Turkish Cypriot Muslims
Hala Sultan Tekke, Cyprus
According to the United Nations Development Programme, Islam’s third sacred holy site, after the Kaaba in Mecca and the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina, is Hala Sultan Tekke, or Umm Haram in Cyprus. In a an assessment of the environmental and cultural assets of Cyprus, Professor George E. Bowen, a senior Fullbright scholar at the University of Tennessee, referred to the Hala Sultan Tekke as third holiest place for Muslims in the world. There are a number of other sources referring to the Hala Sultan Tekke as Islam's third-holiest site.
Turkish Muslims
Eyüp Mosque, Turkey
According to an article in the Turkish Daily News, Turkish Muslims consider it the third holiest pilgrimage site in Islam after Mecca and Jerusalem. It is the reputed burial place of Ayoub al-Ansari who was a friend and the standard bearer for Mohammed. In addition to Ayoub's tomb there is a golden-framed footprint of Mohammed.
Central Asian Muslims
Bukhara, Uzbekistan
“We had started our trip to Bukhara with a visit to the great Sufi saint Sheikh Bahauddin, Nakshbandia’s mausoleum and the mausoleum of his mother Arifa. “There are three holiest places for Muslims,” Mashtura told us. “The Mecca Muzzema with the holy Kaba, the Madina Monwara with the mausoleum of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the Bukhara-e-Sharif.”
Takht-i-Suleiman, Iran
A claim by certain travel websites state that “for Central Asian Muslims Takht-i-Suleiman is the third most sacred place after Mecca and Medina. At the summit an ancient mosque built by Bobur in 1510 still operates”. (Day 23)
Other sites labelled "third holiest/most important"
Umayyad Mosque, Syria
Richard Moore reported that according to many Syrians, the Umayyad Mosque, which after Mecca and Medina, “is possibly the world's third most important mosque.”
Fez, Morroco
Africa Guide states: Fez is the holiest city in the Islamic world after Mecca and Medina. Founded at the beginning of the 9th century by Moulay Idriss II, and barely unchanged, this enchanting city has been a seat of government, philosophy, medicine and most notably religion since then.
Aljama Mosque, Spain
Worldsurface.com describes the Aljama Mosque in Córdoba as “once the third holiest pilgrimage site in the Islamic world”.]
Kairouan, Tunisia
An article titled “Towards A Strategic Geopolitic Vision of Afro-Arab Relations”
by Professor Kwesi Prah states “By 670, the Arabs had taken Tunisia, and by 675, they had completed construction of Kairouan, the city that would become the premier Arab base in North Africa. Kairouan was later to become the third holiest city in Islam in the medieval period, after Mecca and Medina”.
The University of Calgary's Applied History Research Group states: "By 670, the Arabs had taken Tunisia, and by 675, they had completed construction of Kairouan, the city that would become the Arab base in North Africa. Kairouan would also become the third holiest city in Islam in the medieval period, after Mecca and Medina, because of its importance as the centre of the Islamic faith in the Maghrib".
Rawze-e-Sharif, Afghanistan
Situated in Mazari Sharif, Afghanistan, Rawze-e-Sharif, also known as The Blue Mosque, is believed by Afghan Muslims to be the resting place of Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, and the third holiest site in Islam.
References
- Third holiest site is Al-Aqsa
- Almodarresi, Sayed Mahdi (February 9, 2003). "Never Again!". Modarresinews.com. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
The place was the burial site of Islam's second most important figure and third holiest shrine.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Muslim Shiite's Saint Imam Ali Holy Shrine". Photo Agency. Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran. 2005. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
world's 120 million Shiites regard Najaf - a center of scientific, literary and theological studies - as their third-holiest site, behind Mecca and Medina.
- al-Issawi, Tarek (August 31, 2003). "Iraqis arrest 19 with terror ties in mosque blast". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
American authorities have not taken an active public role in the mosque investigation because of Iraqi sensitivity to any U.S. presence at the Najaf shrine, the most-sacred Shi'ite shrine in Iraq and the third holiest in the world after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Penhaul, Karl (April 23, 2003). "Religious rivalries and political overtones in Iraq". CNN. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Escobar, Pepe (May 24, 2002). "Knocking on heaven's door". Central Asia/Russia. Asia Times Online. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
To give a measure of its importance, acccording to a famous hadith (saying) - enunciated with pleasure by the guardians of the shrine - we learn that 'our sixth imam, Imam Sardeg, says that we have five definitive holy places that we respect very much. The first is Mecca, which belongs to God. The second is Medina, which belongs to the Holy Prophet Muhammad, the messenger of God. The third belongs to our first imam of Shia, Ali, which is in Najaf. The fourth belongs to our third imam, Hussein, in Kerbala. The last one belongs to the daughter of our seventh imam and sister of our eighth imam, who is called Fatemah, and will be buried in Qom. Pilgrims and those who visit her holy shrine, I promise to these men and women that God will open all the doors of Heaven to them.'
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Lebanese Firms To Start Tourism Projects In Iraq". IslamicTourism.com. September 3, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
Najaf, home to the shrine of Imam Ali, the cousin of the Prophet Mohammed, is Muslim Shiites second holiest site after Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) Editor's note: This is actually taken from the www.azzaman.com news website, but is no longer directly linked on the English-language page. - "Karbala". Interactive Map: Sunni and Shia: The Worlds of Islam. Public Broadcasting Service. 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
Husayn, Ali's son, Muhammad's grandson, and the central martyr in the Shia tradition, died at Karbala and is buried there. For Shiites, his tomb is the holiest site outside of Mecca and Medina, and many make the pilgrimage there -- up to a million pilgrims visit the city to observe Ashura, the anniversary of Husayn's death.
- "Karbala". Channel 4. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
The holy city of Karbala, situated 100 km south of Baghdad, derives its name from the ancient Babylonian meaning "sacred place of God" from the two shrines it houses of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Husayn and his brother 'Abbas. Shi'a Muslims consider this to be one of the holiest places in the world second only to Mecca and Najaf.
- Gosh, Aparisim (March 6, 2006). "An Eye For an Eye". Time Magazine. pp. Cover Story. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
That makes al-Askari one of Shi'ite Islam's holiest sites, exceeded in veneration only by the shrines of Najaf and Karbala. Even Samarra's Sunnis hold al-Askari in high esteem. The expression "to swear by the shrine" is routinely used by both communities.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) Editor's note: Quote is found on third page of article. - Robertson, Hamish (March 3, 2004). "Iraq suicide bombings: an eyewitness account". The World Today. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Iraq blasts kill 143 on Shiite holy day". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. March 2, 2004. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
'After the blast, all you could see was death everywhere you looked,' said Ahmed Kamil Ibrahim, a guard at the Kazimiya shrine in Baghdad, the third-holiest in Shiite Islam.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Hala Sultan Tekke: Where East Meets West". Issue 1. United Nations Development Programme. 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
In a peaceful setting near Larnaca's West Lake, surrounded by forest and set against a breathtaking landscape is Hala Sultan Tekke. Islam's third sacred holy site after the Ka'ba and the Prophet Mohammad's grave in Mecca, and among the greatest cultural heritage monuments of the world, Hala Sultan Tekke, or Umm Haram, has long been the destination of Muslim pilgrims from Cyprus and the Middle East. The site is also an integral part of Cyprus' own remarkable history and impressive multicultural heritage, where East meets West.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - George E. Bowen (April 3, 2001). "Assessing the Isle of Cyprus". University of Tennessee. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Boyle, Kevin (1997). "Cyprus". Freedom of religion and belief: a world report. London: Routledge. pp. 286–293. LCCN 97-0 ISBN 0415159776.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - Drayton, Penny (1993). "Aphrodite's island". Wood & water. 2 (41).
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) as quoted by Trubshaw, Bob (1993). "The Black Stone - the Omphalos of the Goddess". Mercian Mysteries (14). Retrieved 2006-11-12.{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - Gamm, Niki (November 27, 2005). "Exploring a district devoted to the dead: Eyüp, Istanbul". Turkish Daily News. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
Fatih Sultan Mehmed had a shrine built here and then a mosque. Thise proved to be a popular religious site so much so that Eyüp is now considered the third holiest shrine in Islam after Mecca and Jerusalem, and pilgrims throughout the centuries have come here.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - / A day in legendary Bukhara, by Asjadul Kibria, HOLIDAY PUBLICATION LIMITED, April 25, 2003.
- Moore, Richard (2005). "Syria: Crossroads of the Levant". Syrian Ministry of Tourism. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
The highlight to the Old City was the Umayyad Mosque, which after Mecca and Medina, is possibly the world third most important mosque.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - Day 8
- Worldsurface.com is an online travel magazine written by an international community of writers & photographers;
- This was originally a paper submitted to the African Union (AU) Experts’ Meeting on a Strategic Geopolitic Vision of Afro-Arab Relations. AU Headquarters, Addis Ababa, 11-12 May, 2004 .
- Director, Centre for Advanced Study of African Societies, Cape Town, South Africa
- Schofield, Emma (October 17, 2005). "The Blue Mosque at Masar-e-Sharif". Mirror. International Security Assistance Force. p. 8. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
The Blue Mosque in Masar-e-Sharif is the third holiest site in Islam and the main dome was built 970 years ago to house the coffin of Khalif Ali, the son-in-law of Prophet Mohammed.
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