Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus

A Reflective Book Review

By Pastor Vinnie

If ever two religions grossly misunderstood each other, had bad communication, and held uneducated views about the other, it is certainly the case with Islam and Christianity. Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, is the powerful, engaging, true-life story of a devout Muslim who sets out to defend Allah to infidel Christians and ends up completely converted to Jesus.

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This true-life story unfolds focusing on two young men, freshmen in College, who meet in Debate Club and forge an academically competitive friendship that flourishes, despite vastly opposing ideology and religious fervor. They end up connecting with each other’s life, goals, and dreams, in sincere ways that allow them both to overcome stereotypical assumptions about each other’s faith. This, in turn, gives way to a path for Jesus to shine forth from darkness to light. It is the story of how Jesus saved Nabeel Qureshi from very sincere faith in the religion of his upbringing to a deeper, burning desire to know Truth in both certainty and transformation, on a level that he’d become willing to trade everything to pursue it.

Nabeel’s friendship with David starts, casually, over studies, debate club, and typical college angst. But was fully forged by Nabeel’s sincere fear that his friend David, in the Judgment, would be found guilty of having not only rejected the Prophet Mohammad but of having worshiped three gods (Trinity) instead of one, Allah (God). It is actually, Nabeel’s evangelistic compulsion for the eternal fate of Christians, like David, that puts Nabeel on the path to Christ.

Nabeel, by college age, had become a powerful intellectual and apologist for Islam and was supported by the wisdom of his community and family in this pursuit. He was no novice, having already refuted and stumped many Christians about errors in their own understanding of their faith. David, however, was a simple, faithful Christian, who surprised Nabeel, by not being the typical, shallow Christian Nabeel is used to running into. David, not only reads his Bible, which Nabeel had rarely seen Christians truly do, but actually understands where the Bible came from, how it was written, collected, preserved, and translated. When Nabeel attempts to use typical accusations that the Bible is a corrupted, unreliable source of truth, David is ready to refute these challenges, not with anger or righteous annoyance, but with calm, collected, and sound historical truth; factual understanding of textual criticism, inexorable friendship and Christian compassion. This hooks Nabeel deeper and deeper into his search for truth.

Nabeel Qureshi

As a pastor, what I really love about this book is that the average Christian, or Muslim, reading it will quickly start to learn more correct understandings about the other person’s faith, as well as their own. Nabeel’s own testimony can’t help but give Christians an inside look at what being a Muslim really means, what they really believe and why. As a converted Christian, Nabeel can not only be forthright and honest about his former faith, but can give Christians deep insights into how traumatic it can be for a Muslim to come to terms with, not only, accepting their whole life’s foundation, all they have ever believed, may not be so, but even the mere fact that they entertain that question could mean losing their whole family and everyone they love and respect. There is so much misinformation about Islam, Muslims in general, and the Quran[1], out there in the Christian church, that many Christians have written off these people, or see them as some sort of monstrous threat. Yet Nabeel comes along to shows us, they are people just like us. They love God just like us, and they are only believing what they have been taught to believe about God; most often, just like us.

Nabeel Qureshi and David Wood in those early days.

David, on the other hand, a lay member of his church, and a young adult shows the excellence of understanding of the origins of the Bible, Christian history, and fundamental Christian theology that, untowardly, most pastors, let alone an untrained lay members, could not rival. David is able to masterfully lay it out in ways that speak to the seeker’s mind, while not ignoring the heart. For me, as a pastor, this book excites me; not just because of the powerful testimony of Nabeel, but because, in many ways, wrapped in the narrative of the story, is the single most basic teaching tool I know to teach the fundamentals of Islam and Christianity in a comparative model of understanding. This book will educate Christian and Muslim reader alike, about both their own faith and each other.

Nabeel, fought Christ the whole way through his journey to Truth. But, when he got to his wits’ end, he would pray and ask Allah to show him how to refute error, or to know the truth about Islam. Each time, “Allah” would lead him deeper into Christian truth. Eventually, Allah started sending Nabeel, clearer and clearer visions and dreams, that, even when decoded by his Muslim mother, was screaming at Nabeel: “Jesus is the only way to God. To be with God is to accept Jesus as the Savior from our sins. “ It was his prayers to Allah (which is the Aramaic word for God)[2][3][4][5] that eventually led Nabeel to the conclusion that he must take a stand, and publicly confess Jesus before men, or end up forever denying Him. But his Allah made it very clear to him that, to do so, would mean he’d be denied and cast out from his community, childhood faith, and worse of all, family; including his beloved mother and father. The cost of the cross was real, and Nabeel would not be spared the words of Christ, “If you come to me but will not leave your family, you cannot be my follower. You must love Me more than your father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters—even more than your own life! Whoever will not carry the cross that is given to them when they follow me cannot be my follower.” Luke 14:26-27 ERV

Post Script:

Nabeel Qureshi and Family.

Nabeel Qureshi died, secure in Jesus, on September 16, 2017, at the young age of 34 from advanced- stage stomach cancer. Nabeel left behind a wife (Michelle Qureshi), and a daughter (Ayah Qureshi). But before going, Nabeel set the Muslim world and the Christian world on fire as an International Speaker on behalf of Christ to the Muslim world. He was a renowned apologetic author, and speaker in association with NQ Ministries, and RZIM. Nabeel’s body is at rest with Jesus, but his work roars on! Pray, please pray deeply, that Jesus keeps it shining as a treasured light to the Islamic world at large. Somewhere, out there, is a Muslim, scared and frightened, seeking the Truth; maybe even hiding a copy of Nabeel’s book under his pillow. Pray for conviction. Pray for courage.   Pray for the Truth of Jesus to shine on all Abraham’s Children.

 For, “Behold He comes, riding on the clouds,

Shining like the sun, at the trumpet’s call!

Lift your voice, it’s the year of Jubilee

For Out of Zion’s hill, salvation comes!”[6]

Footnotes:

[1] There is so much bad information flooding the church about the origins of Islam and most of it is spewed out of ignorance and even hatred. While the history of Islam is complex Nabeel’s book helps streamline it for the average person in the pews. However the first place Christians should look for the true origins if Islam is Genesis 21:8-21

[2] “The word Allah is used by Arabic speakers of all Abrahamic faiths (including Christianity and Judaism) as meaning “God.” However, according to Islam, Allah is God’s proper name, while Christians and Jews know Him as YHWH or Yahweh. When Arabic-speaking Christians use the word Allah, it is usually used in combination with the word al-Ab. Allah al-Ab means “God the Father,” and this usage is one way Arab Christians distinguish themselves from Muslims.” https://www.gotquestions.org/who-is-Allah.html

[3] “Etymologically, the name Allah is probably a contraction of the Arabic al-Ilāh, “the God.” The name’s origin can be traced to the earliest Semitic writings in which the word for god was il or el, the latter being used in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). Allāh is the standard Arabic word for God and is used by Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews as well as by Muslims regardless of their native tongue.” https://www.britannica.com/topic/Allah

[4] “Islam and Christianity”, Encyclopedia of Christianity (2001): Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews also refer to God as Allāh.

[5] https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/Allah

[6] Days of Elijah Lyrics- Songwriters: Francis Robert Mark

Days Of Elijah lyrics © Music Services, Inc