Qom is considered holy by Shiʿa Islam, as it is the site of the shrine of Fatimah bint Musa, sister of Imam Ali ibn Musa Reza (Persian Imam Reza, 789–816 CE). The city is the largest center for Shiʿa scholarship in the world, and is a significant destination of pilgrimage, with around twenty million pilgrims visiting the city every year, the majority being Iranians but also other Shi'a Muslims from all around the world. Qom is famous for a Persian brittle toffee known as sohan, considered a souvenir of the city and sold by 2,000 to 2,500 "Sohan" shops.

Qom has developed into a lively industrial centre owing in part to its proximity to Tehran. It is a regional centre for the distribution of petroleum and petroleum products, and a natural gas pipeline from Bandar Anzali and Tehran and a crude oil pipeline from Tehran run through Qom to the Abadan refinery on the Persian Gulf. Qom gained additional prosperity when oil was discovered in 1956 and a large refinery was built between Qom and Tehran.

As the second holiest city in Iran (after Mashhad), many architectural, cultural, and natural sites it has to offer. Read on to discover the best things to see and do in Qom.