Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity

Human do not need to do anything extraordinarily to write a great book as long as the power of God shines through. I have read a few Christian testimonies, autobiographies and biographies. Some write better than others but every one of them without exception is a good read. When the power of God is coming through the pages, it is guaranteed to be a good story because God cannot write bad stories, given God can only do wonders!The gospel may be the same but everyone's salvation is unique because our God is a personal God. Philippians 2:12 says that we have to work out our own salvation. This book records the journey that Qureshi made. Our stories may be different but all Christians are brought to the same place - that is, at the foot of the Cross, broken, crying, wailing, utterly helpless but eternally grateful for the message of grace and God's mercy. The cost of the Cross is not to be taken lightly but the weight of the truth and Christ Himself give us the strength to bear it.This book is no exception as a wonderful testimony but it has much more to commend for. Qureshi's quest for the truth was sincere. His journey leads us into the heart of a Muslim trying to reconcile his Muslim upbringing with the truth of Christ. He gave God a fair hearing, let evidence speak and let reason take hold of his mind. Yet his heart is not ready to go where the mind is. That takes time, the Holy Spirit and personal encounters with God. When Christ became irresistible to Qureshi, it was hard and very painful as the step tore him apart from the life he had always known and the family whom he loved. It was very moving.Qureshi documents his journey of finding out the facts of both Christianity and Islam, not from a viewpoint of a know-all scholar but as a genuine seeker. This part of the book is very informative, as I have never known what and how a Muslim is taught. It gives me insight into their belief system and the resources that are available to them. It does improve my understanding of Muslims and how they think. How Qureshi places the details of Islam in the context of his personal quest for the truth makes the presentation of Islam digestible. It has never become onerous in this book. Instead it is fascinating.This book therefore is very helpful for us all indiscriminately as we are bound to meet some Muslims in our life. This book reveals some of the key prejudices they have been taught and programmed against Christianity. Those were the arguments that Qureshi needed to take down himself to reach the truth. His experience therefore will prepare and equip us to reach out to Muslims. This is a must-read for every one. At the start of the book, Qureshi described how lonely he had been at school until he went to college. He wondered why no Christians approached him to talk about Jesus if they believed Him and were prepared to see to him go to hell, does it mean that Christians do not love him? That really gets me. Because of my ignorance, I never know how to approach them. I often assume that they are devout and therefore they are certain of their faith. The implication of challenging their faith is also too huge. But this is a wrong assumption as devout Muslims can be in turmoil inside as Qureshi's experience has shown us. If they are to question their faith, they almost certainly have to do it alone as the tradition does not allow them to question. It would be a real support for them if there are Christians whom they can turn to outside their circle who can act as a sounding board and understand their struggle.Finally I think we have to see how courageous Qureshi is in writing all these down. His finding leads him to the conclusion that he cannot build an objective case for Islam. In a society that stresses tolerance, we probably would hesitate to criticise Islam. I wonder if he has received death threats as a result of this book and what was his parents' reaction when this book was first published? For us, we don't need to speak it, but will we have the courage to give this book to a Muslim friend, say? Will that be welcome or will that be offensive? To an open minded Muslim, this book is a dynamite. This therefore is a marvellous tool that can be used in many ways. The question is if we have the courage to do so. May God guide us.

Should we obediently accept the word of our parents, leaders, clerics, priests, teachers, or politicians even? Or should we use our own enquiring minds to discover and weigh for ourselves what is genuinely true.Allah is the true God and Muhammad is his prophet, peace be upon him. Or well, just exactly who is this Jesus, the Holy Spirit and God? Three Gods in one? Come on.Author Nabeel Qureshi’s quest to discover the truth of who we are, whether God exists, who He is and how we should relate and respond to Him is a heartbreaking, profound and compelling story. The quest to discover the real truth is often not easy and in Nabeel’s case expensive as you’ll discover if you choose to read his story.My own quest as someone whose life had gone badly wrong ending in a nervous breakdown came to an impasse when a friend asked me to consider whether truth and the real meaning for my life could be found in a man named Jesus. What a completely stupid statement! However, like Nabeel Qureshi, fortunately I decided to investigate and question this ridiculous suggestion. Well there wasn’t much else to do. My life was a mess anyway and I had lost my job. So there was plenty of time to prove my friend wrong. However, I did embark on this journey by testing the evidence of the Bible. I also did what my friend suggested and asked God to talk to me.Like Nabeel I came to an awesome conclusion when God really did reveal Himself to me in the form of Jesus. I got baptised in February of 1997 at the age of 46 (it’s never too late) and entered an extraordinary new fulfilling phase of life that continues today.My challenge to you is that you only read this book if you have a genuinely open mind and heart that is willing to learn.It will take seriously major effort to put to one side preconceived ideas. Especially ‘truth’ that has been passed to you by parents, elders and leaders with the order to obediently accept because they know and you don’t. Plus tradition demands that we accept perceived wisdom without question.As Nabeel Qureshi explains so succinctly in this truly amazing and honest book ... the truth will set you free.