Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi

[Jake]

Has anyone here read Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi? I'd heard several recommendations of the book from folks I work with and also some on-line from some broadly Reformed people.

I am just about finished with it, and I've much enjoyed it. It's written in an approachable way, with short chapters and is written as a series of stories which help to illustrate his conversion to Christianity over time from Islam. It's also written to help give perspective to Christians about Islam who might not know a lot. Most of what I know about Islam comes from a more disinterested, less personal perspective and I greatly appreciated hearing firsthand from a Muslim who grew up in the West. I would recommend the book almost as much to learn about Islam as I would to hear a conversion story.

I am curious though to hear from others about some aspects of the book. I'm not sure what to make of the visions/dreams that were granted to him that were helpful for making the final "leap" to Christianity, as well as his assumption that there was a sense in which he was calling on the same God before and after conversion. I'd also like to hear from people with a Reformed view on Scripture the way in which he seems to come to understand the difference in textual preservation between the Koran and the Bible.

That said, even with some reservations/uncertainties, I greatly benefited from hearing his testimony and from learning more about the perspective of one Muslim. I have not had a lot of interactions with Muslims (I can only think of one person I have talked to in-depth about his faith) and so this was helpful.

 

[Dachaser]

Jake, I have not read that specific book, but have heard testimonies and read other books that gave support to the Lord sending forth dreams/visions, as He is using that to establish and confirm Jesus among those in Islamic lands!

 

[Jake]

Jake, I have not read that specific book, but have heard testimonies and read other books that gave support to the Lord sending forth dreams/visions, as He is using that to establish and confirm Jesus among those in Islamic lands!

It did seem in the first vision he received was very specifically tailored to what he knew and understood as a Muslim, so that in an abstract dream his mother could clearly see what the message was using Islamic interpretation. It also worked together with many other things he studied, learned, and prayed about.

 

[Dachaser]

That God is using dreams/visions seems to be happening in Islamic nations to some extent now, Jake, as even though some of those lands will not allow any missionaries to land there and preach, He is getting around that restriction!

 

[VictorBravo]

I haven't read the book, but I saw a review that indicates that more than just dreams were involved. There was also a Christian witness who worked with him, and that the subject was driven to study the Bible.

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/seeking-allah-finding-jesus1

The review describes the dreams as not being enough for faith. The Word is. And the relatively ordinary means of a Christian's witness.

 

[Dachaser]

Victor, that story seems to be common in areas that have not yet had the mnessage of the cross delivered to them, as did hear story of missionaries coming into area first time, and had the chief meet them, and was excited to hear about "the book" as he had a vision/dream directing him to seek out strangers coming to them with "the book"

Maybe the book of Acts is done still in areas that have never had the messge, in order to prepare the way for message of Jesus?

 

[Jack K]

I too have not read the book but can affirm the observation that God seems to use dreams, in some cases and especially in some cultures, to prepare people for hearing the gospel or to help them respond to it in faith.

My dad's many years as a cross-cultural missionary include several instances of people reporting that a dream convinced them they should listen to him tell about Jesus, and one where a man torn between Christianity and animism turned to Christ following a dream. The people reporting these things gave every evidence of having true faith. In some cases, their quickness to respond to dreams struck my dad as being superstitious. But when he asked those converts, they said God clearly arranged an event in their lives (in this case, a dream) to help them see that they should believe the gospel. Well, that's a pretty Reformed understanding of how the Spirit sometimes works in conversion.

 

[Dachaser]

That seems to be common today, Jack, in missionary regions that are "closed" to the missionaries right now, as the Holy Spirit will use satellite/radio/dreams/visions whatever it takes to get out to the elect the gospel message!

 

[Jack K]

That seems to be common today, Jack, in missionary regions that are "closed" to the missionaries right now, as the Holy Spirit will use satellite/radio/dreams/visions whatever it takes to get out to the elect the gospel message!

Perhaps. But the cases I mentioned were all in a place where the gospel was openly proclaimed. The dreams were not a substitute for hearing the gospel; they merely helped convince a person to give the gospel due attention.

 

[VictorBravo]

Right, Jack. I'll also add that I've worked in the middle east, both in cities and in the middle of the desert among Bedouins. Everyone I met knew something about Jesus Christ. I had shepherds and goat herders asking me questions about him. The strange thing was, I was not a Christian, but I knew the Bible pretty well. I'd answer their questions because they seemed so earnest and I wanted to help out. In a sense, I think I was preaching to myself, laying the groundwork for God converting me years later.

It is remarkable how far the Gospel as spread. And surprising how interested the most remote folks are in hearing it.

Other than good-natured (and sometimes loud) arguments with the more educated Arabs I knew, there was virtually no hostility about Lord Christ. Curiosity, sure. Skepticism, yes. But I didn't run into hostility. That's something I found in Seattle, not Ramadi, for example. (This was long before the current sectarian upheavals we see now).

 

[Dachaser]

Perhaps. But the cases I mentioned were all in a place where the gospel was openly proclaimed. The dreams were not a substitute for hearing the gospel; they merely helped convince a person to give the gospel due attention.

I agree with you Jack, as the main and primary witness to Him is still the scriptures themselves.

 

[Jake]

Perhaps. But the cases I mentioned were all in a place where the gospel was openly proclaimed. The dreams were not a substitute for hearing the gospel; they merely helped convince a person to give the gospel due attention.

Yes, Jack. This seems to be the case for Nabeel. He'd already heard a lot of the Gospel and interacted with the Bible and realities of Jesus as found in the Gospels, but the visions/dreams helped to motivate him to take action beyond the intellectual sense.

 

[Josh Williamson]

I loved the book, and found it to be very insightful. As for the dreams issue, as has been previously mentioned the dreams were not enough on their own to convert, but rather they came alongside the verbal witness. It appears that the Lord used dreams to make Nabeel put it all together.

 

[Pergamum]

I read one study of a people group in the country where I serve that 15-20% of former mslms who have converted to Christianity reported dreams playing a large part in their process. While I don't think these dreams are necessarily Jesus appearing to them, the conscience speaks to their heart about what is true despite the brainwashing they may have received in their islmic schools and God allows strange providences sometimes to guide the believer.

The process is usually that the dream happens and then a few days later the mslm encounters the bible or a missionary and, due to the dream, are more receptive of the teaching. This seems to mirror Cornelius' experience in Acts chapter 10.

I know 4 people who I consider true Christians who report such dreams. Do I call them all liars?

The Covenanters sometimes reported dreams. So why not Middle Eastern Christians?

Personal story: One time trekking to a remote jungle village we were met halfway by a man, wife, and baby. They immediately gave us simple food to eat like some baked taro root. To get to that point on the trail they would have had to arise before daylight and trek this way. Asking them, they reported that either the husband or the wife (I forget) had a dream that a servant of God would be coming to give them the Word of God and so they arose before light and started walking this trail. they wanted to be the first to welcome these servants of God into their village. There was no radio in the village or anyway to communicate. So they gave us this food and accompanied us back to the village and listened attentively to the teaching.

But of course, I had a dream last night that I was in boot camp and Lee Ermey was my drill sergeant....so, who knows...

 

[Jack K]

My dad was a skeptic until a local medicine man (witch doctor) reported he used to hide whenever he saw my dad driving up in the mission's pickup truck. He didn't want to have to talk with my dad about Jesus. But then he had a dream in which spirits he felt had been troubling him ran away in fear at the approach of the pickup. The next time my dad drove up, the medicine man invited my dad in to visit, and listened seriously to the gospel. The fellow soon became a believer.

 

[Dachaser]

My dad was a skeptic until a local medicine man (witch doctor) reported he used to hide whenever he saw my dad driving up in the mission's pickup truck. He didn't want to have to talk with my dad about Jesus. But then he had a dream in which spirits he felt had been troubling him ran away in fear at the approach of the pickup. The next time my dad drove up, the medicine man invited my dad in to visit, and listened seriously to the gospel. The fellow soon became a believer.

Think the main take away from these stories is that the Lord can choose to reach out to save His elect by any means necessary, while still using the Gospel message as His primary way!

 

[LilyG]

I listened to his audio version, narrated by himself. Really enjoyed it.