encyclopedia

Prophet Habakkuk – His Life And Legacy According To The Bible

Published on: 26-Dec-2025

(Cite: Hamdani, Mufti Shah Rafi Uddin & Khan, Dr. (Mufti) Imran. (2018), Prophet Habakkuk Alaihis Salam, Encyclopedia of Muhammad Sallallah o Alaih Wasallam, Seerat Research Center, Karachi, Pakistan, Vol. 1, Pg. 304-306.)

The life of Habakkuk is unknown to us. Presumably, the prophet was a native of Judah who prophesied during the reign of Jehoiakim (609-598 B.C.), at the time of the triumphs of Nebuchadnezzar. 1 In the Hebrew text, the prophet's name presents a double intensive form Hàbhàqqûq, which has not been preserved either in the Septuagint: Ambakoum, or in the Vulgate: Habacuc. Its resemblance with the Assyrian hambakûku, which is the name of a plant, is obvious. Its exact meaning cannot be ascertained: it is usually taken to signify "embrace" and is at times explained as "ardent embrace", on account of its intensive form.

About this prophet's birthplace, parentage, and the life we have no reliable information. The fact that in his book he is twice called "the prophet" leads indeed one to surmise that Habacuc held a recognised position as prophet, but it manifestly affords no distinct knowledge of his person. Again, some musical particulars connected with the Hebrew text of his Prayer may suggest that he was a member of the Temple choir, and consequently a Levite: but most scholars regard this twofold inference as questionable. 2 In the Bible, he is mentioned as:

اَلْوَحْيُ ٱلَّذِي رَآهُ حَبَقُّوقُ ٱلنَّبِي. 3
This is the message that the Lord revealed to the prophet Habakkuk Alaihis Salam.
صَلَاةٌ لِحَبَقُّوقَ ٱلنَّبِيِّ عَلَى ٱلشَّجَوِيَّةِ. 4
This is a prayer of the prophet Habakkuk Alaihis Salam.

Apart from its short title, the Book of Habacuc is commonly divided into two parts: the one reads like a dramatic dialogue between God and His prophet; the other is a lyric mode, with the usual characteristics of a Psalm. In the composition of his book, Habacuc displays a literary power which has often been admired. His diction is wealthy and classical, and his imagery is striking and appropriate. The dialogue between God and him is highly oratorical, and exhibits to a larger extent than is commonly supposed, the parallelism of thought and expression which is the distinctive feature of Hebrew poetry.

Prophetic Teachings

Most of the religious and moral truths that can be noticed in this short prophecy are not peculiar to it. They form part of the common message which the prophets of old were charged to convey to God's chosen people. Like the other prophets, Habakkuk Alaihis Salam is the champion of ethical monotheism. For him, as for them, Yahweh (Allah) alone is the living God; He is the Eternal and Holy One, the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, Whose word cannot fail to obtain its effect, and Whose glory will be acknowledged by all nations. In his eyes, as in those of the other prophets, Israel is the land of God's chosen people whose unrighteousness He is bound to visit with a signal punishment. The special people, whom it was Habakkuk's Alaihis Salam own mission to announce to his contemporaries as the instruments of Yahweh's judgment, were the Chaldeans, who will overthrow everything, even Juda and Jerusalem, in their victorious march. This was indeed at the time an incredible prediction, for was not Juda God's kingdom and the Chaldean a world-power characterised by overweening pride and tyranny? Was not, therefore, Juda the "just" to be saved, and the Chaldean the "wicked" to be destroyed? The answer to this difficulty is found in the distich which contains the central and distinctive teaching of the book. It's oracular form bespeaks a principle of wider import than the actual circumstances in the midst of which it was revealed to the prophet, a general law, as we would say, of God's providence in the government of the world: the wicked carries in himself the germs of his own destruction; the believer, on the contrary, those of eternal life. It is because of this, that Habakkuk Alaihis Salam applies the Oracle not only to the Chaldeans of his time who are threatening the existence of God's kingdom on earth, but also to all the nations opposed to that kingdom who will likewise be reduced to naught, and solemnly declares that "the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea". It is because of this truly Messianic import that the second part of Habakkuk's Alaihis Salam Oracle is repeatedly treated in the New Testament writings (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38) as being verified in the inner condition of the believers of the New Law. 5

Tombs

The final resting place of Habakkuk Alaihis Salam has been claimed at multiple locations. The fifth-century Christian historian Sozomen argued that the relics of Habakkuk were found at Cela, when God revealed their location to Zebennus, bishop of Eleutheropolis (city in Israel), in a dream. Currently, one place in Israel and one in Iran lay claim to being the burial site of the prophet.

Tomb in Israel

Jewish tradition identifies the burial place of Habakkuk Alaihis Salam as a hillside in the Upper Galilee region of northern Israel, close to the villages Kadarim and Hukok, about six miles southwest of Safed and twelve miles north of Mount Tabor. A small stone building, erected during the 20th century, protects the tomb. A tradition dating as early as the 12th century AD holds that Habakkuk's tomb is at this location, but the tomb may also be of a local sheikh of Yaquq, a name related to the biblical place called "Hukkok", whose pronunciation and spelling in Hebrew are close to "Habakkuk". Archaeological findings in this location include several burial sites dated to the Second Temple period.

Persian Shrine

A Hamedan Province states that Habakkuk Alaihis Salam was believed to be a guardian to the Temple of Solomon and that he was captured by the Babylonians and remained in their prison for some years. After being freed by Cyrus the Great, he went to Ecbatana and remained there until he died, and was buried somewhere nearby, in what is today Toyserkan. Habakkuk is called both Habaghugh and Hayaghugh by the locals. The surrounding shrine may date to the period of the Great Seljuq Empire (11–12th century); it consists of an octagonal wall and conical dome. Underneath the shrine is a hidden basement with three floors. In the centre of the shrine's courtyard is the grave where Habakkuk is said to be buried. A stone upon the grave is inscribed in both Hebrew and Persian stating that the prophet's father was Shioua Lovit, and his mother was Lesho Namit. 6

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