A modern classic in Christian biography (autobiography in this case), I Dared to Call Him Father: The Miraculous Story of a Muslim Woman's Encounter with God was originally published in 1978, and has been continuously reprinted since then. I am reviewing a UK edition from my personal home library dated 2005. The version you will commonly find in bookstores today is the 25th Anniversary Edition. For a book to go through so many re-printings and to be continuously in print for over 25 years, you can tell that there is something special about such a book, some stirring within the human spirit that continues to draw us to it.
At first glance I thought perhaps this book would better enable Christians to understand the mind of the Muslims, their point of view, helping them to better witness to Muslims. I can tell you that this book is definitely not focused upon apologetics, nor is it full of "how-tos" on reaching out to the Muslim community. Rather, it is the intimate story of one woman coming to know Jesus as her Lord and Saviour, and her resulting walk in obedience with Him, and His faithfulness to her. It just happens that she was a wealthy Muslim in Pakistan, but truly, this story could be the testimony of any person that the Lord has drawn to Him, out of any circumstances.
I was so moved to read how God reached into the life of Bilquis and drew her to him.
John 6:44 - No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
And indeed, my own testimony, and that of others bears witness to the truth of that verse as well. Without any overt evangelism, God can still speak to us through the circumstances in our lives and draw us to His son. The author experiences a rather dramatic and prophetic conversion, and the story of her coming to the Lord is quite striking, unique, and moving. Her resulting early walk in faith with Jesus and of striving to live in the presence and power of the Holy Ghost every waking moment is so inspiring. Would that I, myself, have such a clear witness of the Spirit in my life on such an ongoing basis rather than in glimpses here and there.
Article comments
1 - carolyn Hester
I am reading " I Dared To Call Him Father" for the third time. I am so inspired and awed. I wonder what happened to her grandson, whose name is now David; and whether or not her children are now Christians.
2 - sunita
This is a fantastic book, which helped me also in my times of persecution coz im also in pakistan.
3 - mohammed
In Islam, committing suicide means eternal hell. (m*hammed also had suicide temptations! shws what kind of spirit is in him)
M*hammed married his adopted son's stunning wife. (quran 33:37)
Al-'Azl, (?????) also known as coitus interruptus, is the practice of having sexual intercourse with a woman but withdrawing the penis before ejaculation. Apparently al-'Azl with female captives and slaves was a pretty important topic for Muhammad and his companions as is evidenced by the abundance of Hadith material on the subject.
The crescent/moon sign on top of mosques explain everything!
-mecca was a place where pagans worshipped moon god
- then muhammed changed qiblah frm jerusalem(holy site) to mecca(evil place)
-moon sign on top of mosques
- the religious dates are set based on moon(ramadaan,muharram etc) shows that moon is deciding all these!
If Muhammad was illiterate, why does Sahih Hadith such as Bukhari say he used to write letters?
-There are accounts of peace treaties signed by Muhammad, his attempt to write the name of his successor while on his deathbed, and the fact that he served for many years as a trading merchant who would have certainly known reading, writing, and arithmetic as he took his trade to Damascus and other cities. Also, the Quran is written in 7th century Arabic, the same language spoken by the very literate Bedouins who raised him. Even Muslims must question this claim of illiteracy when even Allah referred to him as "the one who taught by the pen".
Why does surah 23:5 allow men to have pre-marital sex with slave girls?
Why couldn't Muhammad convince his own town Mecca and had to convince people from another town, Medina? Didn't Meccans know him better?
Since many of Muhammad's own family members didn't believe him, why should we?
Many of the people who were close to Muhammad didn't believe him like Abu Sufyan and Abu Taleb. Why is that?
Why is the Qur'an full of verses that say "Muhammad is not crazy"? Why did so many people accuse Muhammad of being crazy? (when evil spirit is in a man, he will behave crazy)
This article discusses the DMS (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) of mental disorders and cites sahih hadiths to prove that Muhammad was a pedophile according to clinical definitions.
Why did Allah send down a revelation which allows Muhammad to have as many wives as he wants, while earlier allowing only 4 wives for each Muslim?
Why did Allah not protect Christianity from corruption? Couldn't he get it right the first time? (it says in quran allah is protecting torah and injeel, then how will Bible become corrupt?)
The Qur'an claims the New Testament is a book given to Jesus (Qur'an 5.46). However, in reality, it consists of books of Jesus' followers. Why make such a obvious flaw? (shows the poor knowledge of muhammed)
Why did Allah wait over 500 years to tell Christians Jesus didn't really die on the cross?
The Qur'an says Allah made a man very similar to Jesus and he was the one who was crucified, doesn't that mean Allah has deceived all the Christians? What can we expect from Christians when Allah has fooled them by creating someone similar to Jesus? (this shows the poor knowledge of muhammed)
What's with all the dinosaur remains in the soil? Why not a single mention in the Qur'an or hadith?(it is mentioned in Bible abt dinosaurs)
Why do you claim the Bible is corrupt but at the same time proclaim Muhammad is mentioned in the Bible?
According to Muslims, Jesus never said he was the son of God. So why is "son of Mary" explicitly added whenever anyone addresses him?
(this explains the real intension of the one who worte quran)
apart from Judging others, how can one punish (kill someone who doesnt accpt islam) others?? thats supposed to be done by GOD himself!!!
i thot allah has kept hell fr ppl so tht once they r judged they r thrown into it!! if hell is there, why r humans punishing on earth????
If all non-believers go to hell, then everyone who died before the religion was revealed would end up in Hell. Why were they never given a chance? simple when muhammed chnged the details of Jesus from Bible into quran, he forgot one thing! in Bible it says Jesus after crusification, his body was kept in a cave fr 3 days! according to Bible in tht 3 days Jesus went and preached the gospel to the dead.
But when Jesus crusification got chnged, Quran doesnt have answer for this!!!
4 - Christopher Rose
That's easy to answer, the entire monotheist argument is false, a fraud in both a cultural and an economic sense, so anything written by its adherents is also false.
5 - Jordan Richardson
So you mean I should double-check the recipes in this Christian cookbook I have, Christopher?
6 - Christopher Rose
Oh, look, Canadian humour!
7 - Jordan Richardson
I also think the local weather dude is a Sikh. I better get a second opinion.
8 - Christopher Rose
Repetition dulls the effect, Jordan.
9 - Jordan Richardson
Meh, it's par for the course.
10 - Christopher Rose
Eh? What's golf got to do with this?
11 - Jordan Richardson
C'mon, man. Golf's got everything to do with everything. :)
12 - Christopher Rose
My preferred format for games that involve hitting a ball with a stick is cricket.
13 - STM
Rosey: "My preferred format for games that involve hitting a ball with a stick is cricket."
Nothing like a winning streak, eh, Chris? But I'm with ya on your preference.
14 - Adebimpe Naim
greatest is Allah,d God of heavens and earths...this yu've done is slanderous and blasphemous,Allahu akbar!
15 - Abdulmujeeb
Alhamdulillahi,4 me 2 be a muslim. Thanks 2 d supremercy. Do u know Anything u say about Islam is a burden on u. Seek 4 4givness, dats all I av 4 u. Massalam.