Typology of Pilgrims of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (A.S): A Systematic Review Study

Izanloo, Ramazanali; Motamedi, Mansour; Ashraf Imani, Ali

doi:10.22034/farzv.2024.423892.1936

Typology of Pilgrims of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (A.S): A Systematic Review Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Ramazanali Izanloo ¹

Mansour Motamedi ²

Ali Ashraf Imani ³

¹ Researcher at Department of Religions and Islamic Denominations, Islamic Research Foundation; PhD Graduate in Religions and Mysticism from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

² Associate Professor, Department of Religions and Mysticism, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran (Corresponding Author)

³ Associate Professor, Department of Religions and Mysticism, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22034/farzv.2024.423892.1936

Abstract

The holy shrine of Imam Reza (A.S.) is regarded as the most sacred pilgrimage site for Muslim Iranians, offering profound and transformative experiences for its visitors. Given its significant status, numerous studies have been conducted to explore the pilgrims experiences of visitors to this sacred place. The abundance of research necessitates a systematic pilgrims, which this article aims to provide. For this purpose, 155 articles related to Imam Reza (A.S.) and pilgrimage were identified, from which 10 articles specifically focusing on the typology of pilgrims were extracted. These articles were analyzed from various perspectives, including research methodology, data collection methods, sample populations, objectives, and pilgrimage typologies. Ultimately, the study investigates the underlying causes of diversity in pilgrimage patterns and types among pilgrims to Imam Reza (A.S.), addressing the central question of this article while providing a comprehensive framework for categorizing the diverse forms of pilgrims. The findings indicate that: (a) the predominant methodology employed in these studies is phenomenology; (b) data collection methods mainly rely on in-depth interviews with pilgrims, alongside anthropological approaches, observations, lived experiences of the authors, and analyses of personal writings, petitions, and travelogues; (c) the minimum sample size is six and the maximum is thirty participants; (d) the common aim among most authors is to examine and understand the act of pilgrimage from the perspectives of pilgrims to the holy shrine of Imam Reza (A.S.) and their typologies; (e) typologies of pilgrims are presented in various forms reflecting the diverse viewpoints of the authors. Some categorize pilgrims based on faith patterns, while others distinguish them according to service utilization, religious experience, and modernization. From the perspective of faith patterns, pilgrimage styles are divided into doctrinal, traditional, intellectual, ritualistic, circumstantial, functional, and meaningful categories. Regarding modernization, pilgrimage types include virtual, female, metropolitan, traditional, and modern categories; and in terms of service utilization, pilgrims are classified into low-frequency non-individual travelers or semi-institutional tourists, high-cost short-term travelers or semi-institutional tourists, and low-cost high-frequency non-institutional tourists.

Keywords

Typology

Pilgrimage

Pilgrims

Holy Shrine of Imam Reza

Systematic Review

Subjects

Promotion and deepening of Razavi culture and education

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