Selçuk, Turkey
Coordinates: 37.9519, 27.3672
He is not to be confused with Hz. Yahya ibn Zakariyyah عليه اسلام (John the Baptist in Bible)
Hz. John the Apostle رضي الله عنه was one of the Twelve disciples of Hz. Isa عليه اسلام according to the New Testament.
He was considered as the youngest disciples.
His brother was James, who was another of the Twelve disciples.
Acc. to christians beliefs he outlived the remaining disciples and that he was the only one to die of natural causes.
He is said to be buried in Basilica of St. John in Turkey.
Islamic view on John the Apostle
The Quran also speaks of Hz. Isa’s عليه اسلام disciples but does not mention their names, instead referring to them as “supporters for [the cause of] Allah”.
Sunnah did not mention their names either. However, some Muslim scholars mentioned their names, probably relying on the resources of Christians, who are considered “People of the Book”.
Muslim Scholars, however, more or less agrees with the New Testament list and says that the disciples included Hz. Sam’un رضي الله عنه (Saint Peter), Saint Philip رضي الله عنه, Saint Thomas رضي الله عنه, Saint Bartholomew رضي الله عنه, Saint Matthew رضي الله عنه, Saint Andrew رضي الله عنه, Saint James رضي الله عنه, Saint Jude رضي الله عنه, Saint John رضي الله عنه and Saint Simon the Zealot رضي الله عنه
Notably, narrations of People of the Book (Christians and Jews) are not to be believed or disbelieved by Muslims as long as there is nothing that supports or denies them in Quran or Sunnah.
Basilica of St. John
The Basilica of St. John was a basilica in Ephesus. It was constructed by Justinian I in the 6th century. It stands over the believed burial site of John the Apostle.
The basilica is on the slopes of Ayasuluk Hill just below the fortress near the center of Selçuk, İzmir Province, Turkey and about 3.5 km (2.2 mi) from Ephesus.
Know This
The 10TL entry fee includes the Ayasuluk fortress at the top of the hill which has commanding views over Selcuk
Note: Some of the information in this article comes from Christians sources.
