“We become like what we worship,” I said to my Muslim friend Shahid. “If the one we worship is angry, impatient, temperamental, or violent, then we will become the same way.”
 
Shahid leaned back on the sofa in his living room and closed his eyes. He took in a deep breath and held it for a moment.

“Let me tell you what we worship,” Shahid said. “Stones.”

He described how his people travel to Mecca in Saudi Arabia for the hajj, the Islamic pilgrimage required of able-bodied Muslims who can afford the trip. There they walk circles around a stone housed within the Kaaba, an ancient building draped in black in the Grand Mosque.

“We bow down before that stone,” Shahid continued. “Then we walk back and forth between two other stones. After that, we throw stones at other stones. The holy pilgrimage is all about stones.”

He paused, then said, “Now our hearts have become stone!”
 
But Shahid is discovering a different way. He’s learning about Jesus in the Word. And for the first time in his life, he’s discovering the love of the Father, who replaces the heart of stone with a tender, responsive, new heart that is tender and responsive.

I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.

— Ezekiel 36:25-27

“Ever since I started studying the Bible with you, God has been removing the stone from my heart and softening it,” Shahid said. “And I can’t help but tell others what I’m learning.”

But now he’s facing troubles. His father-in-law is a mufti, an Islamic scholar with the authority to issue legal rulings in the community. Knowing that Shahid is studying God’s Word, he’s labeled Shahid a heretic and has threatened to nullify his marriage to his daughter.

Shahid fears losing his wife and his four children. But he’s continuing to move closer to the Kingdom. He’s counting the cost of embracing Jesus as Lord.

• Pray for Shahid as he considers the risks of following Christ, and pray that he will courageously trust God in the midst of persecution.
• Pray that Shahid’s father-in-law will embrace Jesus and use his voice to preach the Gospel instead of issuing threats.
• Ask God to turn Muslims’ hearts of stone into hearts that worship Christ in spirit and truth.

**This account comes from a long-term worker. Names have been changed for security.**

Main photo by Mostafa Meraji

Original article: https://frontiersusa.org/blog/the-stone-worshippers