Holiest sites in Islam

The holiest sites in Islam are predominantly located in the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant.^[2] While the significance of most places typically varies depending on the Islamic sect, there is a consensus across all mainstream branches of the religion that affirms three cities as having the highest degree of holiness, in descending order: Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem. Mecca's Al-Masjid al-Haram (including the Kaaba), Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina and Al-Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem are all revered by Muslims as sites of great importance.^{[1][3][4][5][6]}

Within the Levant, both the Umayyad Mosque in the city of Damascus and the Ibrahimi Mosque in the city of Hebron have held interchangeable significance as the fourth-holiest Islamic sites.^[7]

After the consensus on the first three sites as well as further sites associated with the family of Muhammad, there is a divergence between Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims on the designation of additional holy sites. For Sunnis, sites associated with the Rashidun, other Companions of Muhammad, and Biblical prophets hold a high level of significance (see holiest sites in Sunni Islam). For Shias, sites associated with the Imamah hold a high level of significance (see holiest sites in Shia Islam).^[8] As part of the Hajj, the majority of Muslims also visit the sites of Mina, Mount Arafat, and Muzdalifah, in addition to the Kaaba.^[9]