Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: Third Edition with Bonus Content, New Reflections

After reading Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, I watched several of his videos. One of his last was reminding us of the importance of love in debating doctrine and seeking truth. Truly, this book was written from a heart of love. Love for his religious upbringing and his family, and love of truth. You can actually feel the pull of Qureshi's desire for truth and when finding it, his deep love for the cross he had to bear in being all that God called him to be. He was, as David Wood referred to him, a genius. And yet in his intelligence, this book never makes you feel like you are being "talked down to" or negated in any way whether Muslim or Christian. While this is a beautifully written memoir of one man's search for truth, it is also a carefully organized wholistic presentation of a deep theological debate. Christians and Muslims both would do well to read it. It is illuminating, heart-rending, credible, and easy to read. All with a bit of humor thrown in as would naturally happen with any two college boys.For those who want to understand Muslims better, read it.For those who want to understand Christians better, read it.For those who want to sit down and read an excellent story of one man's short life and be riveted by his story, read this one.My reading of this book (and I read many, many books), will not soon, if ever, be forgotten. Thank you, Nabeel, for bearing your cross. Thank you for writing. While it is not mine to declare, my heart cries, "Well done! Thou good and faithful servant!" Thank you, Nabeel, for being you.

This book was recommended to me a couple of years ago by a close friend. I saved it on a "Future Reads" list on Amazon and the audiobook in a Wish List on Audible, but never got around to purchasing either. As 2024 was ending, I asked my friend which book I should read first, and he said, "I think you should read Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus first." With credits on Audible, I bought the audiobook, and because of a special offer, I purchased the physical book from Amazon. Though I started 2025 with a book I thought was a better fit to begin the year, How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler, I ended up picking this one up shortly after. Four weeks into 2025, this book is finished and the other is only about 20% complete. It's clear this book captured my attention. I’m reading several books at once, or I would have sped through it. The book was not only well-written, but the audiobook was fantastic too. I have a bias toward authors who read their own work—there’s an emphasis in the right places and a conviction in their voice. This was true with Nabeel's audiobook as well. I don’t like giving away too many details about books in reviews, as I want readers to experience the content for themselves without external biases. So, I’ll leave it at that. This book by Nabeel Qureshi is a must-read for any Christian seeking a basic understanding of Islam, Muslim beliefs, and how to approach evangelism with this faith. His writing style and the honest recounting of his conversion make the book easy to read and relate to. It's one of the best books on Christian apologetics I've read in years, and I only wish I had picked it up sooner. I strongly urge you to read it—you will be blessed.

There are many reasons to love this book. One that resonates with me is the author’s ability to make the jump from what was taught him from virtually the moment of birth, that Islam is true and Christianity is not, to… well I won’t spoil it for you! If you value thoughtful logic and humility, do yourself a favor and read it!

I read this book in three days, it was a fascinating insight into the Muslim faith. I have many neighbors of the Muslim faith in my area and Nabeel provided such a full understanding of this faith. I have gotten to know a few of them well and enjoy their friendship.As much as I was intrigued by Nabeel's account of his conversion, his descriptions of his parents gripped me almost as much. I am also the child of first-generation immigrants to the US and as he points out, and many others before him and since have as well, when you're the child of an immigrant, you're never ethnic enough for your parents and you're never American enough for your friends. It's that timeless pull in both directions, of not quite fitting in in either "world."His parents sound much like mine: loving, sacrificial for their children, but also overly enmeshed with their children, bordering on idolatry of them, and a bit controlling. Friends and outsiders were discouraged and when they were permitted, were viewed with suspicion and at arm's length. By that, I mean nothing sinister. I see now looking back, that immigrant parents see their children as a garden they are nurturing and are very protective of anything that might destroy what they have planted. Nabeel's parents sound like such loving, dear parents. It's just what happens to so many of us parents, in wanting what we feel is best for our kids and wanting to orchestrate as many details of their lives to attain this, to make ourselves feel better. It's actually not possible to control someone. I've tried. Doesn't work! Anyway, as I read Nabeel's story, it sounded to me much like what happens -- what *should* happen -- when an adolescent or young adult pulls away from his/her parents. It's painful for both, for the parents almost a physical pain! I mean, his mom had to be taken to the hospital when he told them of his conversion. As painful as this separation is, it is a necessary pain for the child to separate and individuate. Reading about how his mom made him, in his 20s, call her whenever he arrived somewhere, reminding him to pray, in wanting to know even his thoughts, etc, that was my mom, both dear and maddening in her caring. (Note: I believe I've become my mom now that I'm a mom. I get her concern. I force myself to back off when I feel myself getting too carried away.) I understand in Nabeel's culture, individuating is not encouraged. As much as he did not want to wound his parents and family, he individuated in a dramatic way when he converted to Christianity; and then when after years and years of the time and expense of medical school, he chose to enter ministry; and finally again when he chose to marry an American woman. I related so much and almost didn't want to read his account describing how he told his parents of his decision to follow Jesus. It made me recall the hurt I experienced from my family, the rejection. While my family was not Muslim, they objected to my marrying an American.I hope I have not sounded critical of Nabeel's parents. I truly am not. If anything, I felt such pain for them at what they went through and as Nabeel asked, I pray for them almost daily, as well as for Nabeel's wife and daughter. I remember seeing his dad in one of his vlogs during Nabeel's illness. He seems like such a loving dad, willing even to appear in the vlog for his son. Not every dad would do that.I bless Nabeel for this book. I have been a Christian 31 years and reading of how much he had to surrender and suffer for his Lord made me see how much I take my faith for granted and how little I would be able to defend it. It's made me want to learn more to share more, as Nabeel said a week before his passing, "When we talk to people about our beliefs, we should do it through a lens of love. And the whole point should be to bring people together, to bring people together to the truth, and not to hurt one another but to help one another. My whole point in teaching is for love to reign."Going back to my neighbors of Muslim faith, that is my prayer, for love and love only to reign.

This is a very fascinating book about a young man’s journey from Islam to Christianity. I had a hard time putting it down!