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{{Short description|Abrahamic term for Israel and Palestine}}
{{Other uses}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Holy Land<br />{{small|{{nobold|{{Lang|he|אֶרֶץ הַקּוֹדֶשׁ|rtl=yes}} ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]])<br />{{Lang|el|Άγιοι Τόποι}} ([[Greek language|Greek]])<br />{{Lang|la|Terra Sancta}} ([[Latin]])<br />{{Lang|ar|الأرض المقدسة|rtl=yes}} ([[Arabic]])}}}}
| image = File:The map of the Holy Land by Marino Sanudo (drawn in 1320).jpg
| alt =
| caption = Map of the Holy Land by Genoese cartographer [[Pietro Vesconte]] in 1321, described as "the first non-[[Ptolemy|Ptolemaic]] map of a definite country" by Swedish explorer [[Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld]] in 1889.<ref name=atlas>{{cite book|last=Nordenskiöld|first=Adolf Erik|author-link=Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld|title= Facsimile-atlas to the Early History of Cartography: With Reproductions of the Most Important Maps Printed in the XV and XVI Centuries|year= 1889|publisher= Kraus|pages= 51, 64|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=i-IMSQAACAAJ}}</ref>
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| coordinates = <!-- {{Coord}} -->
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| type = [[Sacred ground]]
| ___location = [[Southern Levant]]
| nearest_city =
| original_use = The [[Promised Land]], bestowed upon [[Abraham]] and his descendants (the [[Israelites]]), according to the [[Abrahamic religions]]
| current_use = Major pilgrimage destination for the [[Abrahamic world]], including [[Jews]], [[Christians]], and [[Muslims]]
}}
The term "'''Holy Land'''"{{efn|{{langx|he|אֶרֶץ הַקּוֹדֶשׁ|Ereṣ haqQōdeš}}; {{langx|la|Terra Sancta}}; {{langx|ar|الأرض المقدسة|al-Arḍ al-Muqaddasah}}, or {{langx|ar|الديار المقدسة|ad-Diyār al-Muqaddasah|label=none}}.}} is used to collectively denote areas of the [[Southern Levant]] that hold great significance in the [[Abrahamic religions]], primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the [[Bible]]. It is traditionally synonymous with what is known as the [[Land of Israel]] ([[Zion]]) or the [[Promised Land]] in a biblical or religious context, or as [[Canaan]] or [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] in a secular or geographic context—referring to a region that is mostly between the [[Mediterranean Sea]] and the [[Jordan River]]. Today, it chiefly overlaps with the combined territory of the modern states of [[Israel]] and [[Palestine]]. Most notable among the religions that tie substantial spiritual value to the Holy Land are [[Judaism]], [[Christianity]], and [[Islam]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Palestine {{!}} History, People, & Religion {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Palestine |access-date=2022-10-23 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
A considerable part of the Holy Land's importance derives from [[Jerusalem]], which is regarded as [[Religious significance of Jerusalem|extremely sacred in and of itself]]. It is the holiest city in Judaism and Christianity and the third-holiest city in Islam (behind [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]] in the [[Arabian Peninsula]]). The [[Temple in Jerusalem]], referring to [[Solomon's Temple]] and the [[Second Temple]], was the central place of worship for [[Israelites]] and [[Jews]] and serves as the namesake of the [[Temple Mount]]. According to the Bible, Jerusalem was made the capital city of the [[Kingdom of Israel and Judah]] under the [[House of David]], thereafter being inherited by the [[Kingdom of Judah]] alone. [[Jesus|Jesus of Nazareth]], first brought to Jerusalem to be [[Presentation of Jesus|presented at the Second Temple]] shortly after [[Nativity of Jesus|his birth]], was also highly active throughout the city during [[Ministry of Jesus|his life as a preacher]]. In Islamic belief, [[Isra' and Mi'raj]] refer to a night journey by [[Muhammad]] to the Holy Land, with the supernatural "[[Buraq]]" transporting him from Mecca's [[Masjid al-Haram]] to Jerusalem's [[Al-Aqsa Mosque]], where he ascended to heaven and met [[God in Islam|God]] and past [[Islamic prophets and messengers]]; Jerusalem also served as the [[qibla]] (direction of [[Muslim prayers]]) prior to Mecca's [[Kaaba]].
Historically, the Holy Land is notable for being the site of numerous religious wars. In the [[Middle Ages]], the [[Christian pilgrimage]], which involves visiting sites associated with Jesus or [[Disciple (Christianity)|his disciples]], contributed to the beginning of the [[Crusades]], which were aimed at restoring Christian sovereignty in the region after it was lost to the [[early Muslim conquests]]. In the 19th century, the Holy Land again became the subject of international diplomatic wrangling as part of the "[[Eastern Question]]" with regard to the [[Ottoman Empire]], culminating in the [[Crimean War]] in the 1850s. Around the same period, the emergence of [[Zionism]], a nationalist ideology that tapped into [[History of the Jews and Judaism in the Land of Israel|Jewish aspirations to recover the Land of Israel]], spurred a sizable portion of the [[Jewish diaspora]] to begin working towards the development of the region as the [[Homeland for the Jewish people|Jewish homeland]]. Eventually, following numerous waves of [[Aliyah|Jewish immigration]], the Zionist movement issued the [[Israeli Declaration of Independence]] in May 1948, triggering the [[First Arab–Israeli War]]. Since then, the Holy Land's religious and political atmosphere has been dominated by the [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Religion and the Israel-Palestinian Conflict: Cause, Consequence, and Cure |url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/religion-and-israel-palestinian-conflict-cause-consequence-and-cure |website=washingtoninstitute.org |publisher=Washington Institute for Near East Policy |access-date=18 February 2025}}</ref>
Pilgrimage and other religious activity in the Holy Land has long been central to the [[Judeo-Christian tradition]] and other Abrahamic religions. [[Temple Mount entry restrictions|Restrictions on entry to the Temple Mount]] in the [[Old City of Jerusalem]] have been recurrent since the Ottoman era, with [[Jordan]] and Israel currently splitting responsibility of the site's administration. A number of sites are contested between certain groups, but subject to the "[[Status Quo (Jerusalem and Bethlehem)|Status Quo]]" in Jerusalem and [[Bethlehem]] that effectively bars even the most miniscule changes in their status without universal consensus from the relevant religious parties. Pilgrims from all parts of the [[Abrahamic world]] visit the Holy Land to touch and see physical manifestations of their faith, to confirm their beliefs in the holy context with collective excitation,<ref>{{cite book |last1= Harris |first1= David |title= Key Concepts in Leisure Studies |chapter= Functionalism |page= 117 |series= Sage Key Concepts series |edition= reprint |___location= London |publisher= Sage |date= 2005 |quote= Tourism frequently deploys metaphors such [as] [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrimage]]{{nbsp}}[...] Religious ceremonies reinforce social bonds between believers in the form of rituals, and in their ecstatic early forms, they produced a worship of the social, using social processes ('collective excitation'). |isbn= 978-0-7619-7057-6 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=n2PHQp9xIF8C |access-date= 9 March 2019}}</ref> and to establish a personal connection with the sites in order to strengthen their sense of spirituality.<ref>{{cite news |last= Metti |first= Michael Sebastian |title= Jerusalem - the most powerful brand in history |work=[[Stockholm University School of Business]] |date= 2011-06-01 |url= http://www.metti-bronner.com/Jerusalem.pdf |access-date= 1 July 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200126124828/http://www.metti-bronner.com/Jerusalem.pdf |url-status= usurped |archive-date= 2020-01-26}}</ref>
==Judaism==
[[File:المسجد الاقصى.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|[[:Commons:Category:Olea europaea in Israel|Olive trees]], like this one in Jerusalem, have intrinsic symbolism in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.<ref name=Angus2014>{{cite book |last=Angus |first=Julie |title=Olive Odyssey: Searching for the Secrets of the Fruit That Seduced the World |date= 2014 |publisher= Greystone Books |isbn=978-1-77100-006-2 |pages=127–129 |quote= The Olive Tree flourishes throughout Judaism, Islam and Christianity as a symbol of peace and prosperity, its oils cherished and its growers respected. |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=U0BgBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA128 |access-date=8 October 2020}}</ref>]]
[[File: 4 011.Cemetery of East Jerusalem with view to the City with Moshee2.jpg|thumb|Jewish cemetery on the [[Mount of Olives]], Jerusalem. The holiness of Israel attracted Jews to be buried in its holy soil. The sage Rabbi Anan said "To be buried in Israel is like being buried under the altar."<ref name=first>[[Ketubot (tractate)]] 111, quoted in [https://books.google.com/books?id=GGaTLhHBpwIC&pg=PA392 Ein Yaakov]</ref><ref name=Transl2010>{{cite book |author= Rodkinson, Michael L. (translator) |title=The Babylonian Talmud: all 20 volumes (Mobi Classics) |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1vpQgnDJLzUC&pg=PT2234 |year=2010 |publisher=MobileReference |isbn=978-1-60778-618-4 |page= 2234}}</ref><ref name=Gil1997>{{cite book|author=Gil, Moshe |title=A history of Palestine, 634–1099|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M0wUKoMJeccC&pg=PA632|year=1997|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-59984-9|page=632}}</ref>]]
Researchers consider that the concept of a land made holy by being the "earthly dwelling of the [[God in Judaism|God of Israel]]" was present in Judaism at the latest by the time of [[Zechariah (Hebrew prophet)|Zechariah]] (6th century BCE).<ref name=Magna>{{cite journal |last= Magness |first= Jodi |author-link= Jodi Magness |title= Purity Observance among Diaspora Jews in the Roman World |pages= 39–65 |journal= Archaeology and Text |publisher=[[Ariel University]] and [[Lehigh University]] |volume= 1 |year= 2017 |doi= 10.21461/AT012017.39-66 |doi-broken-date= 17 July 2025 |issn= 2521-8034 |url= https://www.ariel.ac.il/wp/archaeology-and-text/wp-content/uploads/sites/139/2019/03/39-65.pdf |access-date= 16 July 2021}}</ref>
Jews commonly refer to the [[Land of Israel]] as "The Holy Land" ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: {{lang|he|אֶרֶץ הַקוֹדֵשׁ}} {{transliteration|he|Eretz HaKodesh}}).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Troen |first1=Ilan |last2=Troen |first2=Carol |title=Indigeneity |journal=Israel Studies |date=2019 |volume=24 |issue=2 |page=17 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/israelstudies.24.2.02 |publisher=Israel Studies, Vol. 24, No. 2 |doi=10.2979/israelstudies.24.2.02 |jstor=10.2979/israelstudies.24.2.02 |s2cid=262013035 |access-date=24 September 2023 |quote=For Jews, Christians, and Muslims, the land between the Jordan and the Mediterranean is not just a place. It is the Holy Land or Eretz HaKodesh, Terra Sancta, and Al-Ard. Al-Muqaddasah.| issn = 1084-9513|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The [[Tanakh]] explicitly refers to it as "holy land" in Zechariah 2:16.<ref>{{bibleverse|Zechariah|2:16|HE}}</ref> The term "holy land" is further used twice in the [[deuterocanonical books]] (Wisdom 12:3,<ref>{{bibleverse|Wisdom|12:3|NRSV}}</ref> 2 Maccabees 1:7).<ref>{{bibleverse|2 Maccabees|1:7|NRSV}}</ref> The holiness of the Land of Israel is generally implied by the Tanakh's claim that the Land was given to the [[Israelites]] by God, that is, it is the "[[Promised Land]]", an integral part of [[Covenant (biblical)|God's covenant]].{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}
In the [[Torah]], many [[mitzvot]] commanded to the Israelites can only be performed in the Land of Israel,<ref name=Ziegler>{{cite book |last= Ziegler |first= Aharon |title= Halakhic positions of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik |page= 173 |publisher=[[KTAV Publishing House]] |___location= New York |volume= 4 |year= 2007 |isbn= 978-0-88125-937-7 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=XDzlvJ5zsfsC |access-date=21 April 2011}}</ref> which serves to differentiate it from other lands. For example, in the Land of Israel, "no land shall be sold permanently" (Leviticus 25:23).<ref>{{Bibleverse|Leviticus|25:23|HE}}</ref> [[Shmita]] is only observed with respect to the Land of Israel, and the observance of many [[Jewish holiday|holy]] days is different, as [[Yom tov sheni shel galuyot|an extra day is observed]] in the [[Jewish diaspora]].
According to [[Eliezer Schweid]]:
{{blockquote|The uniqueness of the Land of Israel is...'geo-theological' and not merely climatic. This is the land which faces the entrance of the spiritual world, that sphere of existence that lies beyond the physical world known to us through our senses. This is the key to the land's unique status with regard to prophecy and prayer, and also with regard to the commandments.<ref>Schweid, Eliezer (1985). ''The Land of Israel: National Home Or Land of Destiny''. Translated by Deborah Greniman. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. Press, {{ISBN|978-0-8386-3234-5}}, p. 56.</ref>}}
From the perspective of the 1906 [[Jewish Encyclopedia]], the holiness of Israel had been concentrated since the sixteenth century, especially for burial, in the "[[Four Holy Cities]]": [[Jerusalem]], [[Hebron]], [[Safed]] and [[Tiberias]] – as [[Judaism]]'s holiest cities. Jerusalem, as the site of the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temple]], is considered especially significant.<ref name=1000BCE>Feintuch, Yossi (1987). ''U.S. Policy on Jerusalem'', Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 1. {{ISBN|978-0-313-25700-1}}. Quote: "For the Jews the city has been the pre-eminent focus of their spiritual, cultural, and national life throughout three millennia [i.e. since the 10th century BCE.]."</ref> Sacred burials are still undertaken for diaspora Jews who wish to lie buried in the holy soil of Israel.<ref name=JewEnc>{{cite encyclopedia |last1= Jacobs |first1= Joseph |last2= Eisenstein |first2= Judah David |author-link2= Julius Eisenstein |title= Palestine, holiness of |encyclopedia=[[The Jewish Encyclopedia]] |year= 1906 |via= JewishEncyclopedia.com |url= http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11867-palestine-holiness-of |access-date=30 July 2021}}</ref>
According to Jewish tradition, Jerusalem is Mount [[Moriah]], the ___location of the [[binding of Isaac]]. The [[Hebrew Bible]] mentions the name "[[Jerusalem]]" 669 times, often because many mitzvot can only be performed within its environs. The name "[[Zion]]", which usually refers to Jerusalem, but sometimes the Land of Israel, appears in the Hebrew Bible 154 times.
The [[Talmud]] mentions the religious duty of populating Israel.<ref name=Herzog1967>{{cite book|author=Herzog, Isaac|title=The Main Institutions of Jewish Law: The law of obligations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eq3XAAAAMAAJ|year=1967|publisher=Soncino Press|page=51}}</ref> So significant in Judaism is the act of purchasing land in Israel, the Talmud allows for the lifting of certain religious restrictions of [[Shabbat|Sabbath]] observance to further its acquisition and settlement.<ref name=Zahavi1962>{{cite book|last=Zahavi|first=Yosef|title=Eretz Israel in rabbinic lore (Midreshei Eretz Israel): an anthology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yK7hAAAAMAAJ|year=1962|publisher=Tehilla Institute|page=28|quote=If one buys a house from a non-Jew in Israel, the title deed may be written for him even on the Sabbath. On the Sabbath!? Is that possible? But as Rava explained, he may order a non-Jew to write it, even though instructing a non-Jew to do a work prohibited to Jews on the Sabbath is forbidden by rabbinic ordination, the rabbis waived their decree on account of the settlement of Palestine.}}</ref> Rabbi Johanan said that "Whoever walks four [[cubit]]s in Eretz Yisrael [the Land of Israel] is guaranteed entrance to the [[World to come|World to Come]]".<ref name=Slavin>{{cite book |author= Rabbi Nathan Shapira |title= Chapter Eleven, Part 1: Footsteps in the Land |work= Tuv Ha'aretz ["The Goodness of the Land", translation & commentary by David Slavin] |___location= Venice |via= chabad.org |year= 1655 |url= https://www.chabad.org/kabbalah/article_cdo/aid/380830/jewish/Footsteps-in-the-Land-111.htm |access-date= 30 October 2018 }}</ref><ref name=JewEnc/> A story says that when R. Eleazar b. Shammua' and R. [[Johanan HaSandlar]] left Israel to study from R. [[Judah ben Bathyra]], they only managed to reach [[Sidon]] when "the thought of the sanctity of Palestine overcame their resolution, and they shed tears, rent their garments, and turned back".<ref name=JewEnc/> Due to the Jewish population being concentrated in Israel, emigration was generally prevented, which resulted in a limiting of the amount of space available for Jewish learning. However, after suffering persecutions in Israel for centuries after the destruction of the Temple, Rabbis who had found it very difficult to retain their position moved to [[Babylon]], which offered them better protection. Many Jews wanted Israel to be the place where they died, in order to be buried there. The sage Rabbi Anan said "To be buried in Israel is like being buried under the altar."<ref name=first/><ref name=Transl2010/><ref name=Gil1997/> The saying "His land will absolve His people" implies that burial in Israel will cause one to be absolved of all one's sins.<ref name=JewEnc/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3364937/jewish/Why-Do-Jews-Fly-Their-Dead-to-Israel-for-Burial.htm|title=Why Do Jews Fly Their Dead to Israel for Burial?|website=www.chabad.org|access-date=2018-10-30}}</ref>
==Christianity==
{{see also|Christian pilgrimage|Travelogues of Palestine|Jerusalem in Christianity|List of Christian holy sites in the Holy Land}}
[[File:Holy sepulchre mass.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|The [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]] is one of the most important [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrimage]] sites in Christianity, as it is the purported site of Christ's resurrection.]]
For [[Christians]], the Holy Land is considered holy because of its association with the [[Birth of Jesus|birth]], ministry, [[crucifixion]] and [[Death and Resurrection of Jesus|resurrection]] of [[Jesus]], whom Christians regard as the [[Incarnation (Christianity)|incarnation of God]] and the [[Messiah]].
Christian books, including many editions of the Bible, often have maps of the Holy Land (considered to be Galilee, Samaria, and Judea). For instance, the {{lang|la|Itinerarium Sacrae Scripturae}} ({{Lit|Travel book through Holy Scripture}}) of Heinrich Bünting (1545–1606), a German Protestant pastor, featured such a map.<ref name=wdl>{{cite web|title=Description of the Holy Land|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/2891/|website=[[World Digital Library]]|date=1585|language=de|author1=Bünting, Heinrich}}</ref> His book was very popular, and it provided "the most complete available summary of biblical geography and described the geography of the Holy Land by tracing the travels of major figures from the Old and New testaments."<ref name=wdl/>
As a geographic term, the description "Holy Land" loosely encompasses modern-day [[Israel]], the [[Palestinian territories]], [[Lebanon]], western [[Jordan]] and south-western [[Syria]].
==Islam==<!-- This section is linked from [[Muslim history]] -->
{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = horizontal
| image1 = Jerusalem-2013(2)-Temple Mount-Dome of the Rock (SE exposure).jpg
| image2 = Jerusalem-2013-Al-Aqsa Mosque 04 (cropped).jpg
| footer = [[Dome of the Rock]] (left) and [[Qibli Mosque|Masjid Al-Qibli]] (right). The mosque was Islam's first [[qibla|direction of prayer]] (Qibla), and Muslims believe that Muhammad [[Isra and Mi'raj|ascended to heaven]] from there| total_width = 300
}}
{{See also|Jerusalem in Islam|Syria (region)}}
In the [[Quran]], the term {{transliteration|ar|Al-Ard Al-Muqaddasah}} ({{langx|ar|الأرض المقدسة}}, {{langx|en|'Holy Land'}}) is used in a passage about [[Moses in Islam|Musa]] ([[Moses]]) proclaiming to the [[Children of Israel]]: "O my people! Enter the Holy Land which [[Allah]] has destined for you ˹to enter˺. And do not turn back or else you will become losers."{{qref|5|21|b=y|s=y}} The Quran also refers to the land as being 'Blessed'.<ref name="qref|17|1-16|b=y">{{qref|17|1–16|b=y}}</ref><ref name="qref|21|51-82|b=y">{{qref|21|51–82|b=y}}</ref><ref name="qref|34|10-18|b=y">{{qref|34|10–18|b=y}}</ref>
[[Jerusalem]] (referred to as {{transliteration|ar|Al-Quds}}, {{langx|ar|الـقُـدس}}, 'The Holy') has particular significance in Islam. The Quran refers to [[Muhammad]]'s experiencing the [[Isra and Mi'raj]] as "Glory be to the One Who took His servant ˹Muḥammad˺ by night from the [[Masjid al-Haram|Sacred Mosque]] to the Farthest Mosque whose surroundings We have blessed, so that We may show him some of Our signs".{{qref|17|1|b=y|s=y}} {{transliteration|ar|[[Ahadith]]}} infer that the "Farthest Masjid" is in Al-Quds; for example, as narrated by [[Abu Huraira]]h: "On the night journey of the Apostle of Allah, two cups, one containing wine and the other containing milk, were presented to him at Al-Quds (Jerusalem). He looked at them and took the cup of milk. Angel Gabriel said, 'Praise be to Allah, who guided you to Al-Fitrah (the right path); if you had taken (the cup of) wine, your {{transliteration|ar|[[Ummah]]}} would have gone astray'." [[Jerusalem]] was Islam's first {{transliteration|ar|Qiblah}} (direction of prayer) in Muhammad's lifetime, however, this was later changed to the [[Kaaba]] in the [[Hijaz]]i city of [[Mecca]], following a revelation to Muhammad by the Archangel [[Jibril]].<ref name="qref|2|142-177|b=y">{{qref|2|142–177|b=y}}</ref> The current construction of the [[Qibli Mosque|Al-Aqsa mosque]], which lies on the [[Temple Mount]] in Jerusalem, is dated to the early Umayyad period of rule in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]. Architectural historian [[K. A. C. Creswell]], referring to a testimony by [[Arculf]], a [[Gaul|Gallic]] monk, during his pilgrimage to Palestine in 679–82, notes the possibility that the second [[caliph]] of the [[Rashidun Caliphate]], [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]], erected a primitive quadrangular building for a capacity of 3,000 worshipers somewhere on the Haram ash-Sharif. However, Arculf visited Palestine during the reign of [[Mu'awiyah I]], and it is possible that Mu'awiyah ordered the construction, not Umar. This latter claim is explicitly supported by the early Muslim scholar al-Muthahhar bin Tahir.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Elad, Amikam.|title=Medieval Jerusalem and Islamic worship : holy places, ceremonies, pilgrimage|date=1995|publisher=E.J. Brill|isbn=978-90-04-10010-7|___location=Leiden|pages=29–43|oclc=30399668}}</ref> According to the Quran and Islamic traditions, Al-Aqsa Mosque is the place from which Muhammad went on a [[Isra and Mi'raj|night journey]] ({{transliteration|ar|al-isra}}) during which he rode on [[Buraq]], who took him from Mecca to al-Aqsa.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim world|date=2004|publisher=Macmillan Reference USA|others=Martin, Richard C.|isbn=978-0-02-865603-8|___location=New York|pages=482|oclc=52178942}}</ref> Muhammad tethered Buraq to the [[Western Wall]] and prayed at al-Aqsa Mosque and after he finished his prayers, the angel [[Jibril]] ([[Gabriel]]) traveled with him to heaven, where he met several other [[Prophets in Islam|prophets]] and led them in prayer.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Vuckovic, Brooke Olson.|title=Heavenly journeys, earthly concerns: the legacy of the mi'raj in the formation of Islam|date=2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-203-48747-1|___location=New York|oclc=61428375}}</ref> The historical significance of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Islam is further emphasized by the fact that Muslims turned towards al-Aqsa when they prayed for a period of 16 or 17 months after [[Hijra (Islam)|migration]] to [[Medina]] in 624; it thus became the {{transliteration|ar|[[qibla]]}} ('direction') that Muslims faced for prayer.<ref>{{Cite book|title=States, nations, and borders: the ethics of making boundaries|date=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|editor-last=Buchanan|editor-first=Allen E.|editor-last2=Moore|editor-first2=Margaret|isbn=978-0-511-06159-2|___location=Cambridge|oclc=252506070}}</ref>
The exact region referred to as being 'blessed' in the Quran, in verses like {{qref|17|1}}, {{qref|21|71}} and {{qref|34|18}},<ref name="qref|17|1-16|b=y"/><ref name="qref|21|51-82|b=y"/><ref name="qref|34|10-18|b=y"/> has been interpreted differently by various scholars. [[Abdullah Yusuf Ali]] likens it to a wide land-range including [[Syria]] and [[Lebanon]], especially the cities of [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]] and [[Sidon]]; Az-Zujaj describes it as "[[Damascus]], Palestine, and a bit of [[Jordan]]"; [[Muadh ibn Jabal]] as "the area between [[al-Arish]] and the [[Euphrates]]"; and [[Ibn Abbas]] as "the land of [[Jericho]]".<ref>Ali (1991), p. 934</ref> This overall region is referred to as "[[Ash-Shām]]" ({{langx|ar|الـشَّـام}}).<ref name=Bosworth>{{cite encyclopedia |last= Bosworth |first= C.E. |author-link= Clifford Edmund Bosworth |title= Al-Shām |page= 261 |encyclopedia= Encyclopaedia of Islam |volume= 9 |year= 1997}}</ref><ref name=Salibi2003>{{cite book|last=Salibi|first=Kamal S.|author-link=Kamal Salibi|title=A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t_amYLJq4SQC|year=2003|publisher=I.B. Tauris|isbn=978-1-86064-912-7|pages=61–62|quote=To the Arabs, this same territory, which the Romans considered Arabian, formed part of what they called Bilad al-Sham, which was their own name for Syria.}}</ref>
==Baháʼí Faith==
The holiest places for [[Baháʼí pilgrimage]] are the [[Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh]] and the [[Shrine of the Báb]], which are [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]]s in the coastal cities of [[Acre, Israel|Acre]] and [[Haifa]], respectively.<ref name="UNESCO">{{cite web |author=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |date=2008-07-08 |title=Three new sites inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/452 |access-date=2008-07-08}}</ref>
The [[Baháʼí Faith]]'s founder, [[Bahá'u'lláh]], was exiled to [[Acre Prison]] from 1868 and spent his life in its surroundings until his death in 1892. In [[List of writings of Bahá'u'lláh|his writings]] he set the slope of [[Mount Carmel]] to host the [[Shrine of the Báb]] which his appointed successor [['Abdu'l-Bahá]] erected in 1909 as a beginning of the [[Terraces (Baháʼí)|terraced gardens]] there. The Head of the religion after him, [[Shoghi Effendi]], began building other structures and the [[Universal House of Justice]] continued the work until the [[Bahá'í World Centre]] was brought to its current state as the spiritual and administrative centre of the religion.<ref>{{cite journal| first = Jay D. | last = Gatrella | author2=Noga Collins-Kreinerb | title =Negotiated space: Tourists, pilgrims, and the Baháʼí terraced gardens in Haifa | journal =Geoforum | volume =37 | issue =5 | pages =765–778 | date =September 2006 | issn =0016-7185 | doi =10.1016/j.geoforum.2006.01.002}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last= Smith |first= Peter |encyclopedia= A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith |title= Arc-buildings of; Bahá'í World Centre |year= 2000 |publisher= Oneworld Publications |___location= Oxford |isbn= 978-1-85168-184-6 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000smit/page/45 45–46, 71–72] |url= https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000smit/page/45 }}</ref> Its gardens are highly popular places to visit<ref>{{cite web |last= Leichman |first= Abigail Klein |title= Israel's top 10 public gardens |publisher= Israel21c.org |date= 7 September 2011 |url= http://israel21c.org/travel/israels-top-10-public-gardens/ |access-date = 30 March 2014}}</ref> and [[Mohsen Makhmalbaf]]'s 2012 film ''[[The Gardener (2012 film)|The Gardener]]'' featured them.<ref>{{cite news| last =Dargis | first =Manohla | title =The Cultivation of Belief – 'The Gardener,' Mohsen Makhmalbaf's Inquiry into Religion | newspaper =The New York Times| date =8 August 2013 | url =https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/09/movies/the-gardener-mohsen-makhmalbafs-inquiry-into-religion.html?_r=0 | access-date = 30 March 2014}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[Archaeological sites in Israel]]
* [[Crusader states]]
* [[History of Palestine]]
* [[History of the Jews and Judaism in the Land of Israel]]
* [[Holiest sites in Islam]]
* [[Holy places]]
* [[List of religious sites]]
* [[Laws and customs of the Land of Israel in Judaism]]
* [[Rivers of Paradise]], sometimes associated with a religious concept of the Holy Land
==Notes==
{{Notelist}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{Wikivoyage}}
{{Commons category|Holy Land}}
* [https://www.shapell.org/collection/?collection=7&featured=7 Manuscripts from the Holy Land] [[Shapell Manuscript Foundation]]
* [http://www.wdl.org/en/item/2891 "Description of the Holy Land"], 1585 map depicting the Holy Land at the time of Jesus, World Digital Library
{{Jewish Encyclopedia|article=Palestine, Holiness of|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11867-palestine-holiness-of}}
{{Holy sites in Judaism}}
{{Characters and names in the Quran}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Portal bar|Christianity|Islam|Israel|Judaism|Palestine}}
[[Category:Abrahamic religions]]
[[Category:Christian holy places]]
[[Category:Crusade places]]
[[Category:Hebrew Bible places]]
[[Category:Historical regions in Israel]]
[[Category:Historical regions in Palestine]]
[[Category:Islamic holy places]]
[[Category:Jewish holy places]]
[[Category:Land of Israel]]
[[Category:Palestine (region)]]
[[Category:Religion and geography]]
[[Category:Religious places]]
[[Category:Religious terminology]]
[[Category:Historical geography of Israel]]
[[Category:Historical geography of Palestine]]
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