AMAZING STORY
Why Nabeel Qureshi Questioned His Muslim Faith
By Robert Hull
The 700 Club
CBN.com - “It was really something that I had to wrestle with. Because at this point, all the talk about Islam being a religion of peace was being confronted with a very vivid, visual picture of people being murdered in the name of Allah.”
Since childhood, Nabeel Qureshi had been a devout Muslim. He was raised in a loving family from a peaceful sect of Islam.
“The slogan for the sect is ‘love for all hatred for none’ so growing up, I was taught to love everyone.”
Nabeel pursued his faith with rigor. He prayed 5 times a day, and memorized the Quran in English and Arabic. He was determined to prove that Islam was the only true faith, especially to Christians.
“When I’d challenge them on the reliability of the Bible, or when I’d challenge them on the deity of Christ, or the crucifixion. When I’d challenge them on the trinity, they would have no answer and they’d begin a very quick retreat into the realm of faith. ‘I just believe on faith.’ And I’m thinking, ‘well, you’re using the word, faith the way I use the word, ignorance.’”
Then in his freshman year of college, he saw another side of his faith.
“I have to answer for myself, ‘what is Islam really? Is it what I’ve been taught? Is it what these guys are proclaiming?’ And of course I was sure it was what I had been taught. It was peaceful. But then how do I explain what’s happening on the TV?”
He wrestled with those images and thoughts for months. Then, later that year, he met David, a Christian. Like Nabeel, he knew how to defend his faith through logic and reason.
“David was able to give me reasons to believe in the Bible; reasons to believe that the Bible hasn’t been changed. It’s the inspired word of God. That the canon of the Bible, the 66 books of the Bible are actually what should be in the Bible and no other books should be in that collection. He had thought about these things.”
Despite their differences Nabeel and David became friends and over the next 3 years, often debated about religion. Nabeel held on to his beliefs, but was running out of arguments.
“Whenever I started providing reasons to him, that’s when he started pointing things out, flaws in my reasoning.”
It became even clearer when he compared the Bible to the Quran, and looked closely at the teachings of Muhammad.
“It became abundantly clear why people could be so violent in their practice of Islam, because the original teachings of Muhammad, there were some very, very violent teachings found in the traditions of Islam.”
“I’m trying to defend Islam to my friend who was a Christian. I’m trying to explain to him why Islam is peaceful, why women are given equal rights, all these things that I truly believed. Now I have to defend. And I’m failing miserably because there just was no defense.”
Nabeel saw the only logical conclusion, was that Jesus is the Son of God, but admitting that went against everything he had ever believed in.
“The biggest blasphemy in Islam is to worship anything other than Allah. If there is a chance that Islam could be false, that’s a crisis. That’s going to shake my world. And it did. And that’s what drove me to my knees and that’s when I began to ask, ‘God, who are you?’”
In the Muslim tradition, Nabeel asked God to show him the truth through a dream. God gave him three. One in particular had a profound effect.
“I was standing at the threshold of a narrow door. This door was just wide enough to fit me, just tall enough to fit me. The most poignant symbol in the dream was just how narrow this door was. I could barely fit in it and on the other side of this doorway was a room that had been set with a feast. I knew that that room was heaven. I knew that I had to get into that room if I wanted to be in heaven.”
Later he read a passage in the Bible that confirmed his dreams. Convinced of the truth, his world was shattered. Seeking comfort, he reached for the Quran.
“I pull out the Quran and I started going through its pages. And it was a rude awakening that there isn’t a single verse in the Quran designed to comfort a hurting man. Not one. And so I put it away, I turned to the Bible went to Matthew. And it didn’t take long for me to get to Matthew chapter 5. And here’s what it says: ‘Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.’”
And I’m saying to God, ‘God, I know what You want me to do, but I just need time to mourn. I just need time to mourn.’ I just fell in love with the Bible at that moment. It was as if God had written those words specifically for me. He knew 2000 years ago that I was going to need comfort in this moment and He knew that I would go to Matthew. He put that verse in Matthew for me. And I said, ‘Okay. This –this is real. This is the Word of God. This faith is where the truth is found.’ And, that’s when I ultimately, by reading the Bible, accepted Christ.”
Nabeel started telling people about his new faith; including his parents. He says they were disappointed, but still love their son. He is praying that they will one day accept Christ.
“So they can know Him; so that they can be with Him for eternity. So we can all together for eternity. I can’t even imagine. Honestly, I can’t even imagine going to church with my family, and I would love someday for my father and my mother to be worshipping alongside me. I can’t even think about it because I’ll just break up.”
Today he works for world renowned apologist Ravi Zacharias, and has a book called, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus. He is most grateful for the understanding of truth and the gift of eternal life.
“Jesus was able to resurrect from the dead. He has killed death. And this life is all about life; it doesn’t end in death. And there’s nothing—nothing more freeing than that.”
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