Nabeel Qureshi was born in California to Pakistani immigrant parents, devout members of the peaceful Ahmadi sect of Islam. His father whispered \u201cAllahu Akbar\u201d into his ear at birth, following a family tradition dating back to Muhammad. Nabeel\u2019s family was loving and tightly knit, entirely centered on Islam. His mother taught him Arabic before English, and by age five, he had read the entire Qur\u2019an in Arabic and memorized many chapters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His family legacy included generations of Muslim missionaries, and by middle school, Nabeel was adept at challenging Christian theology. Islam gave him \u201cpurpose, values, and direction for worship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2001, while at Old Dominion University, Nabeel met David Wood, a Christian student. Nabeel was surprised that someone so intelligent would read the Bible. Their debates grew into a deep friendship and years-long dialogue. David encouraged Nabeel to examine both Islam and Christianity objectively. \u201cI had been happy with my faith and with my Ahmadi community and did not want to leave it, but I ultimately converted to Christianity after years of dialogue with Wood,\u201d Nabeel recalled. He described his conversion as \u201cthe most painful thing [he] ever did\u201d because it cost him most of his friendships and relationships with fellow Muslims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He wrote, \u201cFor the first time, the [Qur\u2019an] seemed utterly irrelevant to my suffering. It felt like a dead book.\u201d In contrast, the words of Jesus in the New Testament \u201cleapt off the page and jump-started my heart.\u201d He realized, \u201cFor Muslims, following the gospel is more than a call to prayer. It is a call to die. I knelt at the foot of my bed and gave up my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His conversion deeply wounded his family. He said, \u201cTo this day my family is broken by the decision I made, and it is excruciating every time I see the cost I had to pay.\u201d But Nabeel said, \u201cJesus is the God of redemption. He redeemed my suffering by making me rely upon him for my every moment\u2026 To follow him is worth giving up everything.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3424,3460,3461,3517,3573,3689,3719,3720,3751,3828,3833,3897,4509,4537,4541,4542,5244],"tax_ctp_topics":[],"class_list":["post-65349","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-apologetics","tax_ctp_tags-authority-of-christ","tax_ctp_tags-authority-of-scripture","tax_ctp_tags-born-again","tax_ctp_tags-christ","tax_ctp_tags-conversion","tax_ctp_tags-cross-of-christ","tax_ctp_tags-cross-bearing","tax_ctp_tags-deity-of-christ","tax_ctp_tags-dreams","tax_ctp_tags-dying-to-self","tax_ctp_tags-evangelism","tax_ctp_tags-muslim","tax_ctp_tags-new-birth","tax_ctp_tags-new-life","tax_ctp_tags-new-testament","tax_ctp_tags-visions-dreams"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"\n