Book Recommendation: No God But One by Nabeel Qureshi

If you have been involved in ministry to Muslims for more than a few months, you’ve undoubtedly heard of Nabeel Qureshi. His journey from devoted Muslim to apologist for the Christian faith was masterfully documented in his New York Times best selling book Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus. His dedication to pursuing and proclaiming the truth with grace and humility shows up in his hundreds of talks, interviews and debates which can be accessed with a simple search on Youtube. His writing is generous, never belittling the Muslim worldview but giving it a fair response as he did so well in his short book Answering Jihad. Nabeel sadly was diagnosed with advanced stomach cancer in 2016 and died a year later at the age of 34.

C. S. Lewis famously said that, “Those of us who have been true readers all our life seldom fully realize the enormous extension of our being which we owe to authors.”  The psalmist exhorts us to “Sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations (89:1).” One of the gifts that thinkers and writers like Qureshi leave to all generations is the gift of their books. No God But One: Allah or Jesus? is one of those important books that will indeed be a gift to generations of Christians as it makes His faithfulness known.

“No God But One: Allah or Jesus? addresses the most important questions at the interface of Islam and Christianity: How do the two religions differ?  Are the differences significant? Can we be confident that either Christianity or Islam is true? And most important, is it worth sacrificing everything for the truth?” 
​                                                                                   - from the back cover of the book

With a description like the one above, I came to this book expecting an academic tome, something created for the intellectual heights of academia or those dedicated missiologists who read everything they can get their hands on. I was therefore pleasantly surprised to find that Nabeel's voice in the book had stayed true to his voice in both of his other books: winsome, accessible, narrative and generous.  I think this highlights one of Qureshi’s greatest gifts to the church: His ability to speak with authority and deep knowledge about complicated and complex topics in ways that we can all understand.  He is engaging without being flippant, compelling without being preachy and committed to the truth without being pedantic.

No God But One: Allah or Jesus? Is written in two main sections which each explore two important questions through five different parts. 

The two questions are:

1. What are the differences between Islam and Christianity?
2. Can we know whether Islam or Christianity is true?  

With these questions framing up the discussion, Nabeel makes a rock solid case for the claims of the Biblical understanding of Jesus and graciously pulls apart the Islamic arguments both for Islam and against Christianity. At nearly 300 pages, this is an in depth study of the topic.  Just about everything a person has heard or wondered about Islam is covered.

A few years ago I was sharing with a group of high school students who were reading Kate McCord’s book, In the Land of Blue Burqas.  Most of them were not interested in ministry to Muslims but all of them felt that they had grown in their understanding of the God of the Bible because for the first time, they’d seen their God side by side by the god of the Quran.  The distinctions they were sensing brought about a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the God they worship. 

With No God But One: Allah or Jesus?, Nabeel Qureshi gives readers a chance not only to learn about Islam, but in so doing, he invites readers to grow in their own understanding of and appreciation for the God they serve.  Because of this, I want to encourage everyone who follows Christ to read this powerful book.

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