Habib the Carpenter, or Habib Al-Nadjar , حبيب النجـّار ( 5 AD - c. 35 AD), was a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, 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 external party. In ...

who lived in

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

at the time of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. In Muslim tradition, Habib believed the message of Christ's disciples sent to the People of Ya-Sin, and was subsequently martyred for his faith. The Mosque of Habib-i Neccar ( Ottoman for Habib al-Najjar), below Mount Silpium, contains the tomb of Habib along with that of Sham'un Al-Safa (

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

, also known as Simon the Pure). Some sources have identified Habib with Saint

Agabus Agabus (; ; ) was an early follower of Christianity from Syria mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as a prophet. He is traditionally remembered as one of the Seventy Disciples described in Luke . Name The name Agabus derived from the Aram ...

of the

Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of The gospel, its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make u ...

, an early Christian who suffered

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' 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 external party. In colloqui ...

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

sources Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute ...

list Habib's occupation as a carpenter.

Historical narrative

Although Habib is not mentioned in the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

, 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 * Second E ...

, Jude and

, who were sent to town of Antioch to preach the faith of

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

. The people of Antioch had regressed to

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

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

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

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

, 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 Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

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 and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

as a

In the Quran

The legend of Habib the

was, by early

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

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 ''

Rasūl Prophets in Islam () are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (; sing. , ), those who transmit divine revelation, most ...

''. Some modern commentators believe the identification of Christ's disciples and Habib with the figures in the Qur'anic verse is false because they say the term ''Rasul'' denotes a

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

in the

, unlike the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

which describes some disciples of

as apostles. Many people translate Rasulullah as 'Apostle of God'. Some sources have identified Habib with the Prophet

.''The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary'', Abdullah Yusuf Ali, XXXVI: XX-XXVII The Qur'an also uses the words 'nabiyya' to refer to prophets and the word 'naziraa' to refer to prophets who are 'warners.' Therefore, the argument of modern commentators that Habib cannot be a 'rasul' as mentioned in the Qur'an is contradicted by the language of Qur'an itself, which indicates broader understanding of the word 'rasul' and also uses others words to refer to prophets.

References

{{Characters and Names in Quran Muslim martyrs Legendary Muslims 0s births 1st-century deaths Carpenters

Historical narrative

In the Quran

See also

Further reading

References