Abstract

Pilgrimage, as a central form of religious experience, contributes not only to individual spiritual development but also to identity formation and social cohesion in Islamic cities. Recent physical expansions, however, have distanced pilgrimage sites from the principles of Islamic urbanism, reducing the quality of pilgrims’ experiences. A phenomenological approach, focusing on the pilgrim’s lived experience and their relationship with the sacred space, is therefore essential for both theoretical understanding and practical urban planning. This study aims to identify the phenomenological components of pilgrimage within the framework of Islamic urbanism and examine how the experiential and meaningful dimensions—across the three pillars of the pilgrim, the sacred site, and the pilgrimage phenomenon—can inform the development of Islamic urban frameworks for pilgrimage sites. The research is fundamental and qualitative, employing an analytical–interpretive method, with data collected through documentary and library-based studies. Findings show that the phenomenological components of pilgrimage can be organized into three main pillars: the pilgrim, including individual motivation, religious beliefs, hospitality, social interactions, negative experiences, and self-awareness; the sacred site, encompassing spatial meaning, geometry and abstraction, transitional spaces, symbolic markers, connection with nature, centrality, and authenticity; and the pilgrimage phenomenon, including ritual practices, knowledge of the Imam, existential transformation, intercession, ethical commitment, and connection with collective memory.