Habib al-Najjar

Habib al-Najjar

Personal Information
Well-known As	The Believer of Al Yasin
Religious Affiliation	Christian
Place of Residence	Rome
Cause of Martyrdom	In support of Jesus's (a) messengers, people of Antakya killed him.
Burial Place	Antakya, Turkey
Era	Contemporary with the prophet Jesus (a)
Known for	His faith in God and he is praised in Qur'an 36

Ḥabīb al-Najjār (Arabic: حبیب النجّار) is a Christian figure in Islamic sources titled as "the Believer of Al Yasin (Mu'min Al Yasin)". His name is not mentioned in the Qur'an, but in the verses of Qur'an 36 (Sura Yasin), when it mentions the story of the "people of al-Qarya", after the people of Qarya rejected the two messengers who went there to invite them to monotheism, a man went to people of the town hastily from far away out of town and asked them to follow the messengers and revealed his faith in God. After his death, the people were perished by his loud cry. In Islamic sources, this man is considered "Habib al-Najjar".

In exegetic and hadith sources, Habib al-Najjar and his faith have been praised. His grave is in bazaar of Antioch in Turkey.

His Lineage and Occupation

There is a disagreement about his lineage, as it has been recorded as "Habib b. Abria", "Habib b. Mari" and "Habib b. Israel".

Different occupations have been mentioned for him such as thread-weaving and shoe-making, while his job in most sources is mentioned as carpentry and his title was al-Najjar (carpenter). It is said that he made sculptures as idols before believing in God and thus was called an idol-maker. There is only little information in sources about his ascetic and pious life.

In Islamic Sources

The name of Habib al-Najjar is not mentioned in the Qur'an, but he is mentioned in Islamic sources, in the story of "Ashab al-Qarya". According to these verses, after the people of Qarya rejected the two messengers who went there to invite them to monotheism, a man hastily went to them from far away out of town and asked them to follow the messengers and revealed his faith in God. After his death, the people were perished by his loud cry. In Islamic sources, this faithful man is called Habib al-Najjar.

The Story of Habib al-Najjar's Belief and His Murder

In Islamic historical and exegetic sources, this story is mentioned with more details and sometimes with some differences. According to them, Prophet Jesus (a) sends two of his apostles to Antakya referred to al-Qarya in the Qur'an. The messengers of Jesus (a) encountered an old shepherd out of the town and invited him to worship God and to accept the religion of Jesus (a). The shepherd asked them to show him a miracle and they healed his ill son. That old man was Habib al-Najjar who believed in their words. Other reasons are also mentioned for Habib al-Najjar's belief, including that the messengers revived his son, who had died seven days before. In another report, they healed Habib himself who suffered from leprosy. After the messengers entered the town, they were imprisoned by the order of the king. Jesus (a) sent a third messenger to help them and they showed miracles before the king, but according to a report, the king and his companions decided to kill the messengers. When Habib al-Najjar received the news about it, hastily went to deniers and invited them to monotheism and to believe in the hereafter, but people attacked him and killed him in a heinous manner.

Praising His Belief

Habib al-Najjar's Mosque in Antakya, Turkey

In Exegesis and hadith sources, Habib al-Najjar and his faith have been praised. Even though, according to some sources, he was a polytheist before believing in the messengers and it is even said that he worshipped idols for seventy years before he believed in God, some considered him together with Waraqa b. Nufil, Bahira and Qays b. Sa'ida who believed in the noble Prophet (s) before the beginning of his mission; as it has been mentioned that Habib al-Najjar believed in the noble Prophet (s), six hundred years before Islam. According to a hadith from the Prophet (s), Habib al-Najjar who is referred to as "Mu'min Al Yasin", together with Ezekiel (known as the Believer of Pharaoh's People) and Imam Ali (a) were those who never disbelieved in God even for a moment. In other hadiths from the noble Prophet (s), Habib al-Najjar is introduced among the truthful, close ones to God, a dweller in the Paradise and an example of "Thullat-un min al-awwalin" (Arabic:ثُلَّةٌ مِنَ الأوَّلین), a multitude from the former [generations]".

Place of Burial

In early sources, the place of the burial of Habib al-Najjar is reported to be the bazaar of Antakya, but according to the report of new sources, his grave is in the east of Antakya, at the feet of the Mount Silpius which is now called Mount Habib-i Neccar. In the main street of Antakya, there is a mosque with the name of Habib al-Najjar [Habib-i Neccar] which was the grand church of Antakya in the past, and became a mosque during the Islamic era. In old sources, there are reports about the existence of this mosque. Also, in a relatively recent report, there is news about the existence of a village called Sayyidi Habib al-Najjar. In today Antakya, there is no village with this name, but the neighborhood beside the mosque Habib al-Najjar is called Darbus which may be that village.

In Christian Sources

There have been efforts to find historical backgrounds of the story of Habib al-Najjar in Christian sources, especially in the New Testament. Sometimes, Habib al-Najjar in the Islamic sources has been considered a prophet in the New Testament called Cornelius (Agabus). Also, in some sources, there has been an attention to the closeness of the meaning of the name of Theophilus (meaning "lover of God") which is mentioned in the New Testament with the name of Habib al-Najjar; but, based on the commentaries of Christian exegetes of the New Testament, matching the two person does not seem to be right. Also, it has been said that Habib was the name of some Christian martyrs.

See Also

• Sura Yasin (Qur'an 36)