Top Questions Muslim Converts ask and how to answer them
In this blog...
Addresses the primary spiritual, practical, and social questions faced by Muslim-background believers as they transition from Islamic traditions to the Christian faith.
Examines critical topics such as assurance of salvation, dealing with family opposition, managing identity shifts, and understanding foundational Christian doctrines.
Provides biblical responses and practical counsel to help Christian mentors support new converts with spiritual grounding, emotional encouragement, and community integration.
In serving Muslim-background believers all around the world, we recognize many unique scenarios where believers without an Islamic background cannot understand. It is enlightening for Christ-followers to recognize the specific challenges that come with being a Muslim-background believer and to help answer their questions about the Bible and Christian living as they try to dismantle the religious and cultural indoctrination from years under Islam.
By seeking answers to these questions, we dive deep into God’s word for accurate biblical answers and rely on the Holy Spirit to provide us with knowledge and wisdom.
Major lifestyle shifts start to happen when someone leaves Islam for Christ – we can study four important examples: marriage, fasting, tithing, and understanding being saved by faith, not works.
1. Converts with multiple wives
Many Muslim men who leave Islam for Christ had multiple wives under Islam. They ask:
“What is the biblical view regarding a Muslim man who comes to Christ and is married to two or three women? Is he required to divorce his wives and remain alone, or would he be allowed to continue his marriages with them?
Our team of pastors for Redeemed Church, an online church for persecuted converts, has encountered this question many times. This situation is obviously delicate, because marriage is a sacred institution from the Lord. The advice most pastors would give to converts is:
Honor your existing marriage contract and remain as you are if your wives are fellow followers of Christ. If you have multiple wives, your primary commitment remains with your first wife, particularly if she chooses to stay or embrace the faith. For any additional wives, you should offer them the choice to remain in your home; however, given your new convictions under the lordship of Christ, we advise that the marital relationship itself should cease.
If your wives remain Muslim, share Christ with them through a transformed life and grant them the freedom to either stay or leave. Regardless of their decision, you must continue to generously support all of your wives and children financially and remain a loving, committed father and caregiver.
To learn more about this topic of marriage, both in Islam and compared to the Bible, you can read these posts:
2. Forced fasting during Ramadan for Muslim converts
Many Muslim converts, whether in Islamic or Western countries, live with their Muslim families and cannot avoid the practices of Ramadan when it comes around each year. Ramadan is the Islamic month of mandatory fasting, where all Muslims fast from sunup to sundown.
For those who must keep their faith a secret, there is no option not to fast, because it will raise their family’s suspicions. Converts usually ask:
“I fast during the month of Ramadan with my family, while my heart is with the Lord. Is there a problem with fasting during Ramadan?”
We tell these believers that the Lord looks at the heart and intention in our actions! Jesus understands their situations, and so when they are forced to fast and pray next to Muslim family members, they can do so to bring Jesus glory, to plead for their family to know Him, and for them to draw nearer to Him.
If you want to learn more about Ramadan and why it is so important for Muslim families, read these posts:
3. Converts who cannot tithe to a church
In Islamic countries, there are Christ-followers who have never met another believer in person, much less walked into a church! How are these believers supposed to give and tithe to a church that does not exist or they cannot attend?
“If I cannot take my tithes to the church, who should I give them to?”
Converts who come into a relationship with Christ often have many old habits and beliefs they have to deconstruct after living under Islam. One of those is the legalistic giving structure where Muslims must give to the mosque. Learn more about the difference in giving between Islam and the Bible in this blog post: What Giving means in Islam versus Christianity
What happens if there is no church that a convert can give to? We guide the convert on the many ways they can still set aside resources and money to serve God! Their tithing does not need to go to an official Christian organization or church if they do not exist in their country. God will provide opportunities for them to help the poor in their area, a neighbor who needs surgery, or a convert in their country who lost everything due to persecution.
For a convert to have such a desire to give to the Lord is a wonderful sign of their humble heart posture towards God! The Word of God tells us the Lord loves a cheerful giver, and it emphasizes the importance of giving.
“Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.” 1 Corinthians 9:6-8
4. Converts who feel they are not “doing” enough
Most Muslims converts, especially new ones, struggle with salvation being given by Christ as a gift, not something they can earn. Their entire lives as Muslims, they have learned that only good works may please Allah so he would consider them for paradise.
Now, there is a strange mixture of emotions. In one sense, they have freedom and peace because they know if something were to happen, they are promised to be with Jesus in heaven. But they are missing the feeling of accomplishment they used to experience by checking boxes in Islam (prayer, fasting, giving Zakat, etc.).
On top of this, certain experiences are rare for Muslim converts who live in Islamic countries. The majority of them cannot be baptized, attend a church, or do communion with other believers.
Converts have to “unlearn” not to depend on feeling satisfied because of works, but rather knowing that they are free and saved and adopted because of the resurrected Savior. Many wonder whether they are still guaranteed heaven without being baptised or not taking communion.
When new believers come to us with this concern, we point them to verses like Romans 3:23-24:“...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
We are justified by God’s grace as a gift. Not by any works of our own. Galatians 2:16 says:“...yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”
Of course, we also help the believer understand that wanting to do good deeds is a byproduct of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Like in Titus 2:14, we are called to be “zealous for good works” because of what Jesus has done for us.
Muslim converts who struggle with not “doing enough” have to learn to rest in the finished work of Christ, and then do whatever they can to live as a new creation and strive for sanctification. For some converts, this is focusing on a private prayer life because it is unsafe for them to talk about Christ. For others, they are safe to talk boldly about Jesus to their friends and neighbors. For all of them and for us, it is becoming more like Christ day to day.
Understanding the struggles of Muslim background believers
When we as a Church can fully understand the struggles of our brothers and sisters in Christ from all backgrounds, we are better equipped to pray for and support them. We all carry a “before” story. And while faith transforms our spiritual reality, learning to live with and heal from the physical and emotional residue of our old lives is a daily journey.
Let’s continue to pray for our Muslim-background church family. If you would like to support the converts who have asked these very questions, you can learn more about Redeemed Church, our secure online church for underground believers.
Prayer for Muslim converts
Dear Lord, thank you for giving us new life in Christ. Thank you for rescuing my brothers and sisters from Islam. Please give them peace and wisdom as they serve you and seek to honor you in every area of their lives. Amen.
