This article reviews Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, a book by Nabeel Qureshi. Have you ever found a book so compelling that it earns a perfect five-star rating? This is one of those books. I recently finished reading Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi in preparation for a trip to Germany, where I will be sharing the gospel with Muslim refugees.
Qureshi’s story is a powerful narrative of a devout Muslim family who immigrated to America from Pakistan. His father served as a career officer in the US Navy. What makes this story particularly interesting is that it presents apologetics from the perspective of someone who was once “on the other side”—engaging with Christian apologists from a Muslim worldview.
Qureshi’s family was not radical but sincerely devoted to Islam, believing it to be a peaceful and perfect faith, accountable to Allah for their good deeds. In college, Qureshi befriended a committed Christian. Over four years, their warm personal relationship unfolded, with Qureshi challenging the Christian faith and his friend lovingly and intellectually disarming each attack. Through apologetics, Qureshi was compelled to be intellectually honest and apply the same critical methodology to Islam that he used to critique Christianity.
In doing so, he uncovered troubling issues concerning the life of Muhammad and the compilation of the Qur’an. He also found many of the Hadiths to be problematic. Reading Qureshi’s story, I was reminded of Rosario Champagne Butterfield’s testimony in her book, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert. (Butterfield was an activist lesbian professor who abandoned her same-sex lifestyle for a relationship with Christ.)
Like Champagne-Butterfield, Qureshi knew his world would be upended upon discovering the truth of God’s mercy and grace. He took meticulous steps to solidify this truth before leaving Islam and embracing Christianity. Just as Rosario’s story exemplifies the doctrine of election, so does Qureshi’s. We often hear of God using dreams and visions to call Muslims to faith. After the intellectual pieces fell into place, Qureshi experienced a series of dreams that confirmed his decision.
Coming to faith was agonizing for Qureshi because of his deep love for his parents. He would have preferred death to telling them about his conversion and endured the traumatic experience of “emotionally killing his father” with his newfound beliefs. As he grieved the broken relationships with his family following his spiritual discovery, God used Matthew’s gospel to provide specific encouragement regarding his circumstances.
Qureshi graduated from medical school but chose not to practice medicine. He dedicated his life to full-time ministry with Ravi Zacharias Ministries. His website offers a wealth of valuable resources: http://nabeelqureshi.com.