Thirst for Truth: From Mohammad to Jesus by Nikki Kingsley

This is a remarkably engaging book of a conversion story from Islam to Catholicism.  Nikki—her birth name being Naylah—was a believing Muslim who did not hate her religion but who found it lacking and as she learned about Christianity began to have mystical experiences.  She tried to push the mystical experiences away, but in their persistence she looked into what Christianity was about and began to understand the fullness of truth, that God was not just a master and she a servant but a loving Father.  This is not an anti-Islam book but one of discovery and joy.

Nikki takes you through her idyllic upbringing with a loving family, an arranged marriage that turned out to be horrid, if not hellish, through her deepened Islamic faith to find solace from the marriage, her escape to the United States to get away from that marriage, a new marriage to a non-religious Christian, which allowed her to keep her Islamic faith, but in that contact a discovery which led her to Jesus Christ.  It was while visiting St. Patrick’s Cathedral as tourists that began her mystical experience with Blessed Virgin Mary—Maryam as she is called in the Quran—which led her to Jesus.

Some quotes.

The rituals made me feel that coming before Allah was no small matter, and He expected a reverence and fear from me when I prayed.  He was the master to be feared for He was quick to punish.  Allah had ninety-nine names that described his attributes, but there was never any hint of a possibility to have a relationship with Him.  Rather it seemed that having the audacity to even desire a relationship with Allah showed arrogance and pride.  (p. 39)

 

I had difficulty living on the surface as a Muslim, but never looking beneath the crust that seemed to be full of cracks.  I continued to have questions and thoughts about Allah, and an ache in my heart to know Him more fully.  I couldn’t understand why I was not satisfied like them—there must be something I was missing.  I knew that Islam was the only path to Allah, so why wasn’t he answering me?  I was not satisfied with my prayers alone, as it seemed one-sided.  I wanted a response from Him, and I believed there was much more on the other side of the door.  I knew the Truth was there, and I yearned for it, so I did what I was trained to do and kept prostrating myself before Him, begging Allah to reveal Himself.  (p. 77)

 

I tried to find peace in accepting this teaching of Islam and to forget the dream that had started this discussion about Jesus.  But my heart was unsettled, and I could not stop thinking about this Jesus and who He was.  I knew this was not just a dream.  I was trying hard to accept the Quran’s version of Jesus, but my heart kept rebelling.  (91)

 

I am not sure when I came to think of Jesus as God, but the Truth had quietly rooted itself in my heart.  I knew He was God, because only God could love like He loved me, even after my rejection.  Only God could touch my spirit and infuse the Truth in such a gentle way, and fill me with such peace.  Only God could have the magnanimous love to suffer for even those who didn’t love Him, and open the door to Heaven for all mankind!  And finally, only God could have turned me around from my faith in Islam to accept the very things that were once blasphemous to me!  (p. 116)

 

The immense richness of the Catholic faith, and the treasures of its teachings overwhelmed me.  I was like a starving person before an unending buffet of rich food and drink.  My soul was soaking up and taking its fill of riches of the faith that brought me to a closer union with God.  All of the Sacraments offered within the Church continued to work within my soul and my openness to receive instruction and grow in my relationship set the scene for the next amazing event to take place.  (p. 138)

 

I have shared my journey with the personal and mystical events to explain how I came into a relationship with the Father.  If some of you struggle to understand or believe it, I hope you will at least consider the possibility.  My purpose is not to convince you to believe it, but I hope to awaken a desire in your heart to search deeper for the truth without giving God boundaries to respond within.  (p.176)

I read this book on impulse and in only two days, which is incredibly fast for me.  It’s that engaging.  I came across Nikki Kingsley as a guest on The Journey Home, a TV program where guests are invited to tell their conversion stories to the Catholic Church.  You can watch that episode here.

 

Now you can’t buy this book on Amazon, at least not yet as I’m currently writing, but you can order it from Ms. Kingsely’s website.  This book was a joy to read.  It contains a lot more information than that TV testimonial can provide.  As Nikki says in her prologue, “Walk with me through the darkness and into the Light.”