Habib-i Najjar Mosque is a historical mosque in Antakya, Hatay Province, Turkey named after

Habib the Carpenter Habib the Carpenter, or Habib Al-Najjar, was, according to the belief of some Muslims, a martyr who lived in Antioch at the time of Jesus Christ. In Muslim tradition, Habib believed the message of Christ's disciples sent to the People of Ya-Sin, ...

. The mosque is to the east of

Orontes River The Orontes (; from Ancient Greek , ) or Asi ( ar, العاصي, , ; tr, Asi) is a river with a length of in Western Asia that begins in Lebanon, flowing northwards through Syria before entering the Mediterranean Sea near Samandağ in Turkey. ...

( tr, Asi Irmağı).

History

In Antiquity, there was most probably a

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

temple in place of the current mosque. During the Christian era, it was converted into a church named after

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

. In the Medieval Age, the city was captured first by the

Rashidun Caliphate The Rashidun Caliphate ( ar, اَلْخِلَافَةُ ٱلرَّاشِدَةُ, al-Khilāfah ar-Rāšidah) was the first caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was ruled by the first four successive caliphs of Muhammad after his ...

in 637, by the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

in 969, by the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

in 1084, by the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

in 1098, and by the

Baibars Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari ( ar, الملك الظاهر ركن الدين بيبرس البندقداري, ''al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Rukn al-Dīn Baybars al-Bunduqdārī'') (1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), of Turkic Kipchak ...

of the

Mamluk Sultanate The Mamluk Sultanate ( ar, سلطنة المماليك, translit=Salṭanat al-Mamālīk), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz (western Arabia) from the mid-13th to early 16th ...

in 1268. Concurrently in each case, the status of the building was changed from church to mosque and from mosque to church. However, in the inscription of the mosque, it reads that it was rebuilt in 1275 soon after Baibars had converted it to a mosque. The mosque was demolished during the 1853 earthquake. It was rebuilt by the Ottomans but the minaret was left standing and is older. The

shadirvan A shadirvan ( fa, شادروان, tr, şadırvan, ar, شاذروان) is a type of fountain that is usually built in the courtyard or near the entrance of mosques, caravanserais, khanqahs, and madrasas, with the main purpose of providing wa ...

(

ablution Ablution is the act of washing oneself. It may refer to: * Ablution as hygiene * Ablution as ritual purification ** Ablution in Islam: *** Wudu, daily wash *** Ghusl, bathing ablution *** Tayammum, waterless ablution ** Ablution in Christianity * ...

fountain) is a later addition.

Habib-i Nejjar

The mosque was named after Habib'i Neccar or Habib al-Najjar, a carpenter, who lived in the time of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

. In the early years of Christianity, he was martyred by the

pagans Pagans may refer to: * Paganism, a group of pre-Christian religions practiced in the Roman Empire * Modern Paganism, a group of contemporary religious practices * Order of the Vine, a druidic faction in the ''Thief'' video game series * Pagan's ...

, who refused to convert. He was canonized a Christian saint.

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

believe he was martyred for calling people to the religion of

Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...

. He is referred to in the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

, chapter

Ya-Sin Yā SīnGeorge Sale translates Y. S. (also Yaseen; ar, يٰسٓ, ; the letters 'Yodh#Arabic yāʼ, Yāʼ' and 'Shin (letter)#Arabic šīn/sīn, Sīn') is the 36th sūrah, chapter of the Quran (''sūrah''). It has 83 verses (''āyāt''). It is ...

, verses 20–27, as the supporter of the disciples calling the

people of Ya-Sin People of Ya-Sin or Ashab al-Qarya ( ar, أصحاب القرية) is the phrase used by Muslims to refer to an ancient community that is mentioned in the 36th chapter of the Quran as the People of the City or the Companions of the City. The loca ...

to the worship of the One God:

Two sarcophagi

The two sarcophagi found in the yard of the mosque are believed to belong to

Jonah Jonah or Jonas, ''Yōnā'', "dove"; gr, Ἰωνᾶς ''Iōnâs''; ar, يونس ' or '; Latin: ''Ionas'' son of Amittai, is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran, from Gath-hepher of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th cent ...

and John the Baptist, or the tomb of Habib along with that of Sham'un Al-Safa (

Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...

, also known as

Simon Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

the Pure).The Mosque of Habib-i Neccar (Habib al-Najjâr)
/ref>

References

{{Mosques in Turkey Antakya Buildings and structures in Hatay Province Mosques in Turkey Religious buildings and structures completed in 1857