Customer Reviews

I Dared to Call Him Father: The Miraculous Story of a Muslim Woman's Encounter with God

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This book -- a true-life story -- is a page-turner. Very well done as a born-again story, and has the marks of authenticity. Eventually the author got connected with the Billy Graham ministry and had to leave Pakistan. It's a book to read and give to a friend. This new edition (I read the old edition 20 years ago) has an update epilogue and a couple of fascinating appendixes. Don't miss it.

Bilquis Sheikh was a traditional Muslim woman living in Pakistan during the 1960s. At the age of 52, after discontent with life she began examining the Koran in more depth to try to find greater purpose and hope for life. During her search, she noticed the prophet Jesus mentioned within the Koran and thought perhaps reading more on his teachings would be interesting.

As one who came from a well respected and wealthy family, she had many resources and servants at her beckon. She instructed one of the servants to obtain a Bible for her and began to read it. Though it was in a difficult to understand version of the Urdu language, she became intrigued and had a couple dreams relating to John the Baptist and Jesus. She had not read about John prior to her dreams. The dreams struct her so vividly that she had to learn more and so cautiously approached a local Christian missionary.

Over the next weeks and months, God revealed to her that the Jesus of the Bible was the true message of hope for life. She struggled tremendously with the decision to follow this Jesus of an aberrant religion and the implications of intense persecution/ostracization that she would experience if turning to Christ. However, she was continuously brought back to being at peace when dwelling on the things of the Bible and when she talked with God as if He were her father. She eventually surrendered to God and placed her full faith in Him and the promises of the Bible.

The resulting persecution was very real both emotionally, materially, and socially. However, God grew her faith and continuously taught her and utilized her testimony for His glory throughout the rest of her life. This book provides good insight into Muslim society and the meaning of accepting Christ in that society. Not only is it a good read but also a true story.

This book was so heartwarming.I loved how she takes us step-by-step through her walk with God,out of Islam into Christianity,from when God first introduces His son to her through a dream. I also appreciate how she even included her prayers/conversations with God. It makes you feel that you are there, or she is your best friend relating the events. There is some amazing spiritual food in this book,as well as insight to how fanatical and intolerant Muslims are to Christians and if any muslim converts to Christianity,it is their "death sentence"! Is there any other religion in the world that kills their own people,including family, just because they join another faith? I don't know of one. Even though these detestable facts are in the book,I still encourage anyone to read it who would love to know how to have a close personal relationship with our Father-God. It will warm your heart and have you praising God often throughout the reading,just because He is so loving,and good.

This book showed me how "our battle is not against flesh and blood". God spoke to B. Sheikh in incredible ways, which we sometimes find "spooky" or unbelievable. But, her testimony of how she came to faith reminds me that God works in the supernatural realm, conquering the spirit and occult world. God will overcome "the powers of this dark world" and "the spiritual forces of evil" and bring peace, just as he did in the author's life.

Bilquis' story of her search for God and the way He found her shows the depths of his love for lost sinners and the powerful way he draws men to him. As the story unfolds, you can see how God is working out everything in the background, through dreams, events, chance encounters and situations to orchestrate the salvation of her soul. This is especially revealed in the Afterword written by Synove Mitchell, the missionary that Bilquis' first consulted, the despair that was going on in her spiritual life at the time, and her fervent prayers to God to show her meaning in her ministry.

After her conversion, Bilquis learns to walk with God, to feel for his Presence and to follow his leading. This part is very humbling for me because I have not yet learned to walk as Bilquis has, perhaps because I have too much material, Bible study notes, commentaries, preaching, programs, that I have not learned to lean solely on God, and what he wants me to do. I pray that I can develop the sensitivity that Bilquis has, about moving in his will, staying in his presence and his fellowship and then obey. Even though she was shunned by her family, threatened by the villagers, and almost had her house burned down, Bilquis learned to trust only in God and his timing. She was bold in her witness, she did what God told her to do, and was used by him to bring other villagers to Christ. Bilquis also recounts times when she grieved the Spirit, when she let her old self get in the way, and her immediate sense of being further away from God.

Servants and neighbors observed the changes that God made in Bilquis' life after her salvation. Whereas before, she was imperious, prideful, and hard to please. She became gentle, gracious, and giving. After years of observing her, her Muslim servant received Jesus as Saviour because she too wanted to know God, and asked Jesus to come into her heart. They both "have tasted that the Lord is gracious" (1 Peter 2:3)

So it can be for you too, if you want to taste of the heavenly gift, then just ask God to show Himself to you. While visiting a hospital, she met a doctor who told her "there is only one way to find out why you feel this way. And that is to find out for yourself, strange as that may seem. Why don't you pray to the God you're searching for? Ask Him to show you His way. Talk to Him as if He is your friend.... Talk to Him as if He were your father."

As a self-professed non-reader, I stayed up to 3AM just so I could finish the book! How amazing God is! It is a story of a woman - a Muslim by birth, with connection to high ranking Afghanistan officials and of upper class family connections - who one day came upon Jesus Christ in a dream which began her lifelong journey to seek the true God. Bilquis Sheikh risked everything - even her life and her love for her grandson Mahmud - to follow Christ. What was so hard to put down were the words that intricately described her emotional connection to God - something which practing Muslim must deny - and to have a personal relationship with Him. Her knowledge of the Quran and the Bible gave her an immeasurable platform which God used her even in the midst of death threats and personal sanctification. To be set apart for Christ was what she desired! I read the updated version of this book which gave some historical context to her life after she came to United States and the tragic murder of her beloved grandson Mahmud, who was defending a person from an "honor killing" (a practice where Muslims kill a family member because they became 'traitors' to the Islamic faith). The book is truly God-inspired, words in which gave me an encouraging view of my faith in Christ and how NOTHING is for my own and glory but that ALL THINGS ARE FOR CHRIST'S GLORY. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me..." Philippians 4:13

Its not just a book , its a great testimoney by a woman in an orthodox country like pakistan , who found the taste of GOD ,spoke to HIM, dined with HIM ,and was with HIM all through her life no matter what cicumstances were laid before her...
Read to know who this GOD is why she has to relinquish her generations old faith .

Isaiah 65:1 says, "I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me. I was found by those who did not seek me."

That is what happened to the lady in this story. As a casual Muslim living in Pakistan, she was neither looking for God nor interested in Him. Above all, she was certainly not looking for Jesus. Yet, God pursued her and awakened in her the eternity He has placed in every human heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Once awakened, the thirst for God in her intensified and spurred her personal search for this One who invaded her quiet moments with His Presence and awakened her in the night.

This is a captivating true story of God's miraculous and passionate pursuit of a lost soul. I found that I could not read as fast as I wanted to in order to learn what happened next. This book will encourage you in your prayers for lost friends and also challenge you to personally live a life more completely committed to Christ.

This book arrived in the mail just yesterday afternoon. Admittedly, I peaked at it while I was still at work and was immedaitely entranced by this story. I continued to read at stoplights until I got home, and I finished it last night.

Buy this book!

How do I give myself to God completely?
What happens when I do?

If these question were come from anyone of religion free country, that's not strange. But if they were come from the hidebound Islam country like Pakistan, and one of the noblewoman, than that's so different!

What reasons can make a noblewoman who firmly believes in Islam, rather to give up her forefather's religion, in spite of her family's boycott and the radical Islam's attack, can still hold on to believe in Christian belief, and dared to call Him father?

It's a true story can encourage your faith and so charming to be worth to read again and again!

I LOVED THIS BOOK! The author had a remarkable experience in the way she came to know Jesus, and the way she describes her ensuing experiences provides many very clear lessons on how to listen to God's voice and to stay in His presence.

The clarity of her descriptions and the spiritual depth of her life have had a lasting effect on me, and I think often of things that she said and described and am able to apply them to my own life. I have given my copy to my son (age 22) and he already has a 'waiting list' for it among his college friends.