Nabeel Qureshi, the best-selling author and Christian apologist who was a convert from Islam, has died of cancer. He was just 34 years old.
He was diagnosed a year ago when he was given a very low chance of survival. His faith remained steadfast throughout the ordeal that followed.
'Today, September 16, our dear brother in Christ Nabeel Qureshi went to be with the Lord following a year-long battle with cancer. We received this news with deep sadness and yet profound hope, confident that he is finally and fully healed in the presence of his Savior,' Ravi Zacharias International Ministries posted.
'Please join the RZIM team in praying for Nabeel's wife, Michelle, and his daughter, Ayah, as well as for his parents and extended family. We know this is Nabeel's gain, but a tremendous loss for all those who loved him and were impacted by his life and testimony on earth.'
After seeing Nabeel back in May for the last time, Ravi Zacharias wrote:
You will be freed to the joy of life where there are no more fears, no more tears, no more hate, no more bloodshed, because you will be with the One who has already shed his blood for you, where love is supreme, grace abounds, and the consummate joy is of the soul. The smile of God awaits you: 'Well done.'
The Gospel Coalition carried a tribute, explaining how Nabeel was born in California as a U.S. citizen to Pakistani immigrants who fled religious persecution at the hands of fellow Muslims. His parents were devout members of the peaceful Ahmadi sect of Islam, which differs from orthodox Islam on some minor doctrines but shares with it a belief in the six articles of faith.
The author of No God But One: Allah or Jesus? explained his decision to convert to Christianity at the age of 22 in a pinned tweet from April 2014: 'I left Islam because I studied Muhammad's life. I accepted the Gospel because I studied Jesus' life. #MyStory #SeekingAllahFindingJesus'
His latest tweet was a vlog from his hospital bed, on 9 September:
He also posted videos on YouTube and other updates on social media as his illness progressed. 'The results aren't good,' he said on YouTube recently. 'The radiation apparently didn't work too well.'
In an interview withChristian Today before he was diagnosed, Nabeel described how he believes the world is in the midst of an Islamic reformation. This means a return to the religion's fundamentals, he told Christian Today, and there is no doubt that these fundamentals are explicitly violent.
He said: 'There is a basis to believe in Jesus. He rose from the dead. You can check that historically. You don't have to believe it on blind faith. The Koran says if you believe Jesus is God, you will go to hell. (ch 5:72) whereas Romans (10:9) tells us we need to believe that to be saved. So they are exactly contrary. Therefore you cannot be both Christian and Muslim.'
In his short life, Nabeel had qualified as a doctor, gained a degree in Christian apologetics, a masters in religion and an MPhil in Judaism and Christianity at Christ Church, Oxford. He had hoped to progress onto a PhD.
He received death threats after his conversion.
'Within a month of becoming a Christian, someone left a note on my car. The vast majority of death threats are from people online, they are just people letting off steam. I've been told now to let people know when it happens. Before I just blocked and moved on.'
He had seen too much to have doubts. 'The only people that truly doubt a supernatural reality are people born and raised in the sheltered West.'
