In my paper titled, Muslim Dreams, I wrote in general about how God is drawing Muslims to Himself using dreams and visions. In that paper, I had a section on Nabeel Qureshi, and his journey and conversion to Christianity.
There are a few additional points that I thought were important to convey, so I wrote this companion article.
The book
In his book, “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus,”1 Nabeel Qureshi brings up two points in the epilogue that I will address. One has to do with the role of dreams and visions. The second point is his perspective on befriending someone with a different worldview.
Before I address these two points, I want to highly recommend his book. Qureshi’s journey to Christianity is encouraging and instructive. His book is very readable and was hard to put down. He takes us on an emotional roller coaster while he sheds light on his upbringing in an honor-shame culture. All the while, he does a great job of articulating his issues with Christianity and Islam, and deals with his struggles honestly.
Dreams & Scripture
First, Qureshi says that some folks, “thought it dubious that God would reach Muslims through visions and dreams today, believing that this would clash with the authority and sufficiency of Scripture. [But], in every story I personally know involving Muslims who received visions and dreams, God lead those Muslims either directly to the Bible or to Christians who elucidated the teachings of the Bible.”2
In appendix one of his book, Qureshi has included short articles written by various experts that provide insight on some of the topics in the book. One of those expert contributors is evangelist and apologist Josh McDowell.
Concerning dreams and visions, McDowell says,
“This phenomenon is not limited to any one people, language, or country -and, it’s not just Arabs, but also Persians, Turks, Africans, and folks in Asia -cultures that place a high premium on such dreams.
“Dreams and visions do not convert people; the gospel does. The dreams lead them to the scriptures and to believers who can share Jesus with them. It is the gospel through the Holy Spirit that converts people.
“Mission Frontiers magazine reported that out of six hundred Muslim converts, more than 25% were affected spiritually through dreams. One missionary in Africa reports that “42% of the new believers came to Christ through visions, dreams, angelic appearances, and hearing God’s voice.”3
Worldview
Secondly, Qureshi points out that you don’t need to know all the answers about someone’s religion before speaking with them. Rather, you need to have a willingness to discover what is important to that person, and the desire to spend the time to learn and discuss those matters as the relationship progresses.
As to the basic knowledge of Christianity, Qureshi suggests that you need to be able to articulate what you believe and why. As Peter instructs in 1 Peter 3:15,
“but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.”
The operative phrase that Peter uses here is ‘always being ready.’ To me, this means being on the lookout for an opportunity to speak. Then, if we don’t know something, we can look up the answer for the next time we talk. This way our understanding grows, and we have something to talk about next time we meet.
One of the problems I have, is that I tend to want to move too fast. I think that I can answer a person’s question and that settles it. Time to move on. I forget that changing one’s thinking can take time. So patience is an important ingredient in the relationship.
Conclusion
First, get a copy of “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus,” and start reading. Next, check out some of the other posts in my blog. Lastly, if you are a Christian, prepare yourself so you can be ready to give an account of the hope that is in you!
1 Nabeel Qureshi, Seeking Allah, finding Jesus, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016)
2 Qureshi, 296. Quote condensed.
3 Qureshi, 331-32, Condensed for brevity