I DARED TO CALL HIM FATHER by Bilquis Sheikh

Here is another facinating book:

Publisher: Chosen Books
25th Anniv. edition (2003)
ISBN-10: 0800793242
ISBN-13: 978-0800793241

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

The story follows a Muslim woman from Pakistan, Madame Bilquis Sheikh, as she struggles through a crossroads. Her husband divorced and left her with three children, a boy and two girls. She retreats to an obscure part of the town and lives like a recluse with two house maids – one a Christian and the other a Muslim, a Christian chauffer and an adopted grandson Mahmud.

The book narrates a series of strange happenings surrounding her: a strange hand brushing her shoulder one evening, a young Christian convert girl murdered on the street, her lively grandson Mahmud becoming afflicted with an unknown illness and two strange dreams – one an encounter with Jesus Christ as her guest at dinner table; and the other an encounter with a Perfume salesman. These events caused her to reminisce on her life and her strict Muslim upbringing. Trying to read her Koran led her to begin to ask questions about Jesus Christ. In the confusion and in quest for an answer she went to see local Missionaries who gave her answers to her troubling dreams and a copy of the New Testament. Another strange illness of the grandson took her to a Christian Hospital where she met a Christian Doctor who again spoke to her about Jesus Christ. After praying for her, the doctor ended by asking Bilquis to address God as her Father. On December 12, on her 47th Birthday, she called God “My Father”

We follow Bilquis as she hungrily absorbs her new found faith. She reads the entire New Testament, learns to pray, asks for and receives the Baptism by the Holy Spirit. She begins to enjoy the presence of the Lord in her life especially in fellowship with the Christian Missionaries. She learns the bitter lesson of forgiving your enemies as she struggles to forgive her former husband who divorced and abandoned her. Despite concerns of public opinion, Bilquis insisted on Water Baptism. Her eagerness is evident as she goes as far as to baptise herself in her bath tub while waiting for the Missionaries to make a decision. After her baptism, she obtains a Bible from the Missionary who baptised her and opens it to read the words “... I will scatter them abroad”

As expected, Bilquis suffered rejection from close relations and family members. There were even talks to kill her but in all, God kept her from all evil. She turned tragedies, such as deaths in her family, into opportunities to thaw the ice of resentment and separation in her family. Her service in the Local Sunday Fellowship appealed to local folks and all classes of people and was electric in its effect on the people around them. Her Muslim house help confessed Christ, but this brought fresh threats to her life especially from her family members.

After a series of warnings through dreams and personal calls, she decided to flee from Pakistan. It was at this time that she received an invitation from a missionary friend to come to USA. The powers that be, however, made it quite an ordeal for her to leave. In all she saw the hand of God destroying all obstacles on her way and finally one beautiful Friday morning in 1972, she left for the USA with Mahmud, her adopted grandson. By 1978 she had been living in California for six years and had been used greatly of the Lord to witness to many people of the power of God to save, protect, and keep all who put their trust in Him.

I have read this book many times and each time I have been challenged by the life Bilquis Sheikh lived. It is possible to take the Bible and live it out in every aspect of our life. God still speaks to people today and is very interested in the affairs of all who are prepared to trust and walk with Him. All you need is READ THE BIBLE, OBEY THE PRECEPTS, PRAY AND YOU’LL SEE GOD AT WORK.

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Other reviews and related links
http://www.newtestamentpattern.net/bookreviews/biography-modern/idaredtocallhimfather.htm
http://www.until-then.com/index.php/gods-family-album-q-z/141-madame-bilquis-sheikh
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilquis_Sheikh

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I Dared to Call Him Father, 25th Anniversary Edition: The Miraculous Story of a Muslim Woman's Encounter with God By Bilquis Lohse At a time when new questions about Islam arise daily, the miraculous story of Bilquis Sheikh will help you understand and reach out to Muslims---with compassion and the gospel. A wealthy Pakistani woman, the outspoken Sheikh came to know God through a dream, turning her world upside down---and putting her life in danger. 192 pages, softcover from Baker.

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