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The believer whose story is told in Sûrat Yâsîn, killed by his people for having believed the messengers; in the Islamic sources he is known by the nisba neccâr (carpenter).
The commentators differ about his name: it is given as Habîb b. Mûsâ, Habîb b. Isrâ'îl and Habîb b. Mer'î. Nor is there a single report about his trade; the sources present him as a carpenter, a silk merchant, a cloth bleacher or a shoemaker. It is related that he set aside half of his daily earnings for his family and gave the other half in alms. It is stated that, because of leprosy, he lived far from the city in seclusion, occupied with worship.
His story is told in the Qur'an thus (Yâsîn 36/13-29): two messengers were sent to a city, and then a third was sent to support them. The people of the city opposed the messengers; against this, a man from the edge of the city came and believed in them and supported them. This believer was killed by the people of the city and entered Paradise, while those who disbelieved were destroyed by a single blast.
There are differing reports about the manner of his death as well: it is related that he was stoned, that he was lynched, or that he was cut apart with a saw.
His Tomb and Complex — At Antioch, beneath a structure at the foot of Mount Silpius which was first a Roman temple, then a Byzantine church, and afterwards a mosque, one of three graves is attributed to him.
Miracles
What follows are reports which appear in the source as transmissions; the atlas records them not as "thus it happened" but as "thus the sources transmit".
His walking while carrying his severed head. It is related that after he was killed he walked carrying his severed head. (Source: TDV DİA, HABÎB en-NECCÂR)
The sharing of his earnings. It is related that he set aside half of his daily earnings for his family and gave the other half in alms. (Source: TDV DİA, HABÎB en-NECCÂR)
Differing Scholarly Views
His name is given in three separate forms. Habîb b. Mûsâ · Habîb b. Isrâ'îl · Habîb b. Mer'î. The source settles on none of them.
His trade is disputed. The reports of carpentry, the silk trade, cloth-bleaching and shoemaking stand side by side; the nisba neccâr rests on the common report.
The identity of the messengers and the location of the city are not certain. The commentators identify the messengers with John, Paul and Simon Peter and take the city to be Antioch. Here the source draws a line: neither the hadith sources nor the Christian records furnish any confirmation regarding the time, the place, or the identity of the believer.
The identification with Agabus is without evidence. Some researchers identify him with the Agabus of the Christian sources; the source states that no evidence substantiates this claim.
The manner of his death is not a single report. The reports of stoning, of lynching and of being cut apart with a saw are transmitted together.
Sources
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) — Süleyman Ateş · vol. 14, pp. 373-374, entry “HABÎB en-NECCÂR”
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