Nabeel Qureshi 1983-2017

“Nabeel Qureshi,” our beloved brother who was born in 1983, passed away to be with the Lord on September 16 of this year after a one-year battle with stomach cancer.

We are now grieved and heartbroken, but with all our hearts and souls we believe that he has been freed from pain and has found true healing in the presence of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Death in different religions and beliefs is interpreted with various words and descriptions. Some consider death to be the end of everything, and others see it as punishment and darkness from which it is impossible to escape. However, for us Christians, death is the beginning of eternal life in the presence of the Lord and worship of Him.

What a more beautiful life than to begin life with complete acceptance of God in our hearts, worship Him with complete faith, and serve with all our soul and heart. And finally, worship our Lord for all eternity.

The loss of Nabeel Qureshi is saddening for many of us Christians, but we believe that he has begun a new phase and continues his eternal life in heaven in union with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Nabeel was an excellent example and a model who proved that we can serve our Lord until our last breath with all our being, and how a Christian servant should spend life on earth.

Qureshi was born to a Pakistani Muslim family and raised in America.

In part of his faith testimony that expressed the change in the direction of his life toward Christ, Nabeel said: “My earliest childhood memories are from times when my mother would sit me beside her and teach me to read the words of the Quran. So much so that by age 5, I had finished reading this book.”

With this continued teaching, he learned how to defend the principles of his Muslim faith and would usually challenge those at school who did not believe in Islam.

Until finally, during his studies at the University of Virginia, he met David Wood. He was a Christian evangelist, and Nabeel met David while reading scripture. These two debated with each other for two and a half years, each trying to defend his religious beliefs and faith. But ultimately, according to Nabeel’s testimony of faith, all his arguments for defending Islam were defeated in the face of the philosophy of death and resurrection and the divinity of Christ.

Regarding this, Nabeel said: “At the end of my research, the arguments against Islam were equally matched with the reasons I had for defending this religion, but I came to the clear belief that what Islam offered was far removed from the strength present in Christian theology.”

But these were not the only evidence that convinced Qureshi to believe in Christianity and surrender his heart to Jesus Christ. Rather, he had three prophetic dreams about Christ, and all of this caused Christianity to ultimately triumph in Nabeel Qureshi’s thoughts and choice.

He accepted Christ as his Savior, but announcing this faith to his parents was so difficult that he said about it: “When my parents found out, it was the most painful day of my life. Of course, having Christ in my life was worth losing all the valuable things in my life.”

He simultaneously studied at Eastern Virginia Medical School while also studying one of the disciplines of Christian theology at the university.

He then entered Oxford University to pursue a doctoral degree in New Testament and theology, and continued his activities as a spokesman for the international organization RAVI ZACHARIAS.

Qureshi also published three books with the following titles.

“Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity”

“Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward, and No God but One: Allah of Jesus?”

“A Former Muslim Investigates the evidence for Islam and Christianity.”

One of Nabeel Qureshi’s books has now been translated into Persian and is available to Persian-speaking enthusiasts under the title “Seeking Allah, Finding Christ.” This book will soon be prepared as a PDF file. To obtain it, interested individuals can contact us.

Qureshi announced the news of his illness and cancer diagnosis in August 2016 in a Facebook post as follows: “This is an announcement that I never thought I would have to make. But I believe that the Lord, in His infinite wisdom and sovereignty, has chosen me for purification and refinement. I also pray for the glorification of our Lord through my body and spirit. Now my family and I have received the news that I have advanced stomach cancer and it is very difficult to predict the course and outcome of treatment.”

After this news, Qureshi continued his activities of sharing the Word and updating the stages of his treatment through videos via social networks.

In his last video before his death, he said: “I hope that through my life I can leave a legacy of love. I believe that our God is the God of love. As you have seen my service, I hope to leave a message of love, peace, righteousness, and the importance of caring for one another among you.”

Now, on behalf of Iranians and all Persian-speaking Christians around the world, we extend our deepest condolences to Michelle, Nabeel’s wife, and their daughter Ayah, to Nabeel Qureshi’s parents, his extended family, and RZIM.

We pray with all our hearts that the Holy Spirit will fill the hearts and minds of this family.

We seek peace and comfort from God for Nabeel Qureshi’s family, and we believe that when we meet Nabeel Qureshi in eternal life and worship Christ in union, we will be honored witnesses for him.

We hope Nabeel’s spirit is in peace and eternal joy in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.