Habib-i Neccar Mosque, It is known as the first mosque established in Anatolia. The identity of Habib-i Neccar, who gave the mosque its name after it was demolished due to the earthquake, became the subject of research. Habib-i Neccar is a person who makes a living as a carpenter in Antakya. “Neccar” in Arabic means carpenter. There are many different stories about who Habib-i Neccar is. There are rumors that an event mentioned in the Qur’an took place in Antakya and that the person mentioned in the event was Habib-i Neccar.
According to one of the stories told; Habib-i Neccar has a son with leprosy and therefore he lives in a cave in the mountain. Hz. Prophet Jesus sends his apostles John and Yunus to Antioch. Both apostles reach the city by crossing the mountains and first encounter Habib-i Neccar. Habib-i Neccar sees these two ambassadors who are foreign to the city and asks who they are. They also They say they are the apostles of Jesus. Habib-i Neccar asks the envoys for proof that the prophet sent them. They also say; “By Allah’s leave, we heal diseases.” Habib-i Neccar believes in the religion of the messengers when his leprosy son is healed from their hands.
Then the envoys descended to the city and invited the people to religion, but their efforts were fruitless. The ruler of the city, who heard that they were healing the diseases and that the people were gathering around them, had these envoys imprisoned without question. When there is no news from the ambassadors for a long time, the third ambassador Şem-un Sefa is sent to Antakya. He sneaks into the king’s palace and aims to save the envoys sent before him. In time, he gains the king’s trust and offers to test the ambassadors. The king agrees and calls the envoys. The envoys do not know each other, and Şem-un Sefa invites them to the true religion of tawhid by asking questions about what the prophet sent.
The king says to Sem-un Sefa, “Since a prophet has been sent to you, then you must have a proof.” They say that prophets healed diseases and raised the dead. In the royal palace, they bring a newly deceased person before the ambassadors, and he is resurrected with the help of Allah. The resurrected person says, “O people of Antakya, if you do not want to see the torment I suffered after my death, follow these three people who saved me.” Meanwhile, it is revealed who Şem-un Sefa is. The king is astonished and asks Sem-un Sefa, “Are you one of them too?” he asks. Shem-un Sefa replies: “My king, these apostles have done something extraordinary. Tell your idols to show their ingenuity.” However, the king knows that idols do not have such a talent. For what can idols who do not eat, drink, or speak do?
It is known that the king believed after this event, but the majority of the people did not comply with the invitation, on the contrary, they preferred the way of denial. The envoys are accused of witchcraft, and the people who do not renounce their ancestral religion throw stones at them. Thereupon, Habib-i Neccar rushes to the city and calls out to the people; “O people, follow those who expect nothing in return from you. They are of those who are on the right path.” These words of Surah Yasin 20-22. It is believed that it refers to the event described in the verses. However, the people also stoned Habib-i Neccar to martyrdom on the grounds that they betrayed the religion of their ancestors by believing in the religion brought by the ambassadors.
The Habib-i Neccar Incident Mentioned in Islamic Resources
According to the event mentioned in Surah Yasin in the Qur’an; Two envoys appointed by God come to a city (Karye) to invite the people of “karye” to the Truth, and invite the people of the city to believe in God. But the people oppose them and do not listen to them. For this reason, a third envoy is assigned. However, most people do not believe them. A person from a distant part of the city believes that they are telling the truth and supports them. But the people of the city oppose this person and kill him. After this incident, the wrath of Allah descended on the people of the city. While the people were destroyed with a terrible sound, it is stated that the person who was killed entered Paradise thanks to his faith.
The commentators have different opinions about the event mentioned in the chapter of Yasin. Some commentators claim that the names of the ambassadors are John, Paul and Sem’un-i Safa (Simon Petrus) and that the city they were sent to was Antakya. It is also stated that the name of the person who accepted the message was Habib bin Musa, Habib bin Israel or Habib bin Marya. In the tafsir books, it is told that Habib’i Neccar was a carpenter, cloth bleacher or shoemaker. Habib’s Neccar allocates half of his daily income to his family and gives the other half as charity. Because he has leprosy, he sits in a place far from the city and engages in worship. After declaring his faith, he invites the people to faith, and then he is killed by stoning, lynching or cutting with sawmills.
However, there is no definite information about exactly where and when the event took place. There is no explanation in the hadiths on the subject. Verses in the Qur’an, Hz. It shows that this story was known at the time of the Prophet. Taking a lesson from the fate of the people of the city, it is advised to choose the right path. Tribes such as Thamud, the people of Madyan, the people of Lot and the Ashab al-Hijr mentioned in the Qur’an were destroyed because they refused to listen to the messengers of Allah. It is unclear from which tribe the city mentioned in the Yasin period belongs to. As stated by the commentators, although it is known that the event took place in Antakya, MS. It could not be determined that an earthquake in 35 years had anything to do with the event described in the Qur’an.
In Christian Sources, St. Jesus’ Envoy to Antioch
According to the tafsir books, Hz. Messengers of Jesus were sent. However, in Christian sources, Hz. There is no information that Jesus sent an envoy to Antioch. Instead, St. After the ascension of Jesus to the sky, Barnabas, who was sent to Antioch by the Christians in Jerusalem, called Saul (Paul) to his side from Tarsus. Paul and Barnabas spread the new religion in Antioch for a year. Later, Simon Peter also went to Antioch. However, there is no event in the Ahd-i Cedid (Bible) similar to the story described in the Qur’an.
Agabus, mentioned in the Bible, is one of the prophets who gave the news of the famine described in the Acts of the Apostles. However, although it has been suggested that Agabus is the Habib-i Neccar, there is no evidence to prove it. In addition, Agabus’ activity in Kayseri eight years later is also mentioned. Greeks, Agabus. They believe that he was one of the seventy chosen disciples of Jesus and that he was martyred in Antioch, but it is not known where he was killed. It is thought that one of the three tombs under the building, which was a Roman temple at the foot of the Habib-i Neccar (Silpius) mountain in Antakya, was converted into a church in the Byzantine period and a mosque in the Islamic period, may belong to Habib-i Neccar.
