Habib the Carpenter, or Habib Al-Najjar, was, according to the belief of some

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 Abrah ...

, a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

who lived in

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

at 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 relig ...

. In Muslim tradition, Habib believed the message of Christ's

disciples A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to: Religion * Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ * Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples * Seventy disciples in t ...

sent to 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 ...

, and was subsequently martyred for his faith. The Mosque of Habib-i Neccar ( Ottoman for Habib al-Najjar), below Mount Silpius, contains the tomb of Habib along with that of Sham'un Al-Safa ( Peter, also known as Simon the Pure). Some sources have identified Habib with Saint Agabus of the

Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...

, an early Christian who suffered

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

in Antioch at the time of Jesus. This connection is disputed, as Christian tradition holds that Agabus was martyred at Jerusalem, and not at Antioch as Muslims believe of Habib. All

Muslim 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 Abrah ...

sources list Habib's occupation as a carpenter.

Historical narrative

Although Habib is not mentioned in the

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard 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 from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...

, an old

tradition speaks of some of Christ's disciples, including

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, Jude and Peter, who were sent to town of Antioch to preach the faith of God. The people of Antioch had regressed to

idolatry Idolatry is the worship of a cult image or "idol" as though it were God. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, the Baháʼí Faith, and Islam) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the ...

. When the disciples came, many of the people questioned them, asking them of what religion

Jesus 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 relig ...

had sent them to preach. Baidawi provided a detailed account of Habib's narrative. He related that the disciples met Habib in

and made known to him their mission. Baidawi further related that the disciples, by the will of God, performed various

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...

s including healing the sick and blind. After Habib's son was healed, Habib's faith was further strengthened and he tried to help in preaching the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

to his fellow people. Yet still, many refused to hear God's message. Instead, the disbelievers decided to

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

Habib to death. The legend ends with Habib, upon having been stoned, entering

paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in para ...

as a

In the Quran

The legend of Habib the

was, by early

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard 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 from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , ...

commentators, identified with the following verse of the Quran: The people who are described as preaching to the town in the Qur'anic verse are mentioned as ' messengers'. Therefore, the identification of Christ's disciples and Habib with the figures in the Qur'anic verse is believed to be false by many modern commentators. This is because the term '

Messenger ''MESSENGER'' was a NASA robotic space probe that orbited the planet Mercury between 2011 and 2015, studying Mercury's chemical composition, geology, and magnetic field. The name is a backronym for "Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochem ...

' or ' Apostle' usually denotes a

Prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the ...

in the

, unlike the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

which describes some

apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

. Many people translates Rasulullah as 'Apostle of God'. Although some sources have identified Habib with the Prophet Agabus of

''The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary'', Abdullah Yusuf Ali, XXXVI: XX-XXVII

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Habib The Carpenter Muslim martyrs Legendary Islamic people AD 5 births 1st-century deaths Carpenters

Historical narrative

In the Quran

See also

Further reading

References