ziár

Ziár is a term found in several languages that derives from the Arabic ziyārah, meaning visitation or pilgrimage, typically to a sacred site. In religious contexts, ziár denotes the act of visiting shrines or tombs and may refer to the pilgrimage itself as well as the set prayers or recitations associated with such visits. The spelling ziár and its variants (ziar, ziyar, ziyār) reflect transliteration from Arabic and adaptation in Persian, Turkish, and other languages.

In Islamic practice, ziár is especially associated with visiting the shrines of revered figures, including saints and imams, where it is often accompanied by specific devotional formulas known as ziyāra. The practice varies by tradition and country, and its emphasis ranges from personal devotion to communal pilgrimage. In some communities it is regarded as meritorious, while preferences and restrictions on sites and practices differ.

Beyond religion, ziár also appears as a family name or given name in some communities, and as a toponym in parts of Europe and the Middle East, where places may be named with forms derived from the same root. The term thus has both religious and secular uses, reflecting its broad linguistic and cultural reach.

See also: ziyarat, pilgrimage, ziyarah.