Sid: Now I have a man on the telephone I’ve never personally met but I am excited over what God is doing in his life. He comes from a Shiite Muslim background in the Middle East. And Reza Safa just for our Mishpochah to get to know you a little bit; what was your life like as a Shiite Muslim?
Reza: I grew up in a very radical home; when I say radical meaning our father was a true Muslim; kept the law and the commandment and the Sharia law. And he trained us, all of our kids, there are nine of us, that we need to also keep the Islamic laws. So ever since I was a kid he would kick me early in the morning, as far back as I remember my name, to get up early in the morning and to do my prayer. I had to learn it by heart the prayer; it’s in Arabic which is a foreign language to me and I had to learn it by heart and then stand before Mecca and go up and down kiss the ground and then repeat those phrases.
Sid: You know Reza, you may not know this but because I come from a traditional Jewish background so much of what you say to me is similar to my experience.
Reza: Right.
Sid: I learned how to read Hebrew but I didn’t understand a word I was reading and it was like tradition learned by rote. I have to tell you I don’t know what you’re reaction personally was, I’d be curious. But my reaction as a kid having to do this is I was, I didn’t want to do it, I wanted nothing to do with it, I couldn’t wait till I was old enough to walk away. What was your reaction?
Reza: Actually I was the opposite I just did everything in my power because my father put such a desire in my soul for loving God and pleasing him. I did anything, I remember when I was oh six, seven years old I would fast 30 days and I wasn’t allowed to eat and drink as long as the sun was up. And you know I remember as a kid toward the evening my knees would clap because I was so thirsty and I couldn’t even brush my teeth with water and I had to stand their put ice on my head and put a hose over the ice just to cool my body down. And I did all of that and I would get up very early in the morning, I would pray five times every day, I would pray extra prayers, sometimes I traveled 18 hours by train to go to the shrine of a dead imam to pray a whole week just to please God. I had such a incredible zeal in my heart for God and that was my upbringing.
Sid: Okay, but let me ask you something, in Christianity we think of God as our loving Father, in Islam what as a young man did you think of God as?
Reza: God is a supreme being that is too far and too massive to be contacted by human beings. So the only way that you can please him is to keep his commandments, to keep constantly doing good. And your life is based upon constantly doing good and keeping the law in order that that God is pleased.
Sid: And could a human hear from that God?
Reza: Oh, it’s impossible, no he is not to be touched, he is not to be heard, he’s not to be contacted, his being is far greater than human beings being able to touch him.
Sid: And what was your thought about the Koran?
Reza: Well, of course the Koran is the most holy most revered book you know like even when you touch it you carry it, you have to carry it with both hands, you have to do a special washing even before touch the Koran. And so you read it then again the language is Arabic and Persians speak Farsi so it’s a foreign language. So I had to learn, I had to study there years of Arabic in order to be able to read the Koran. And of course a lot of, as a child, a lot of the knowledge that I received was depending upon my Father. And he would take me to special services to special meetings and learn the things about the Koran.
Sid: But what did you think about Mohamed and the way he wrote the Koran?
Reza: And again as a Muslim you believe that he’s holy that he’s not like any other man that he’s the most elected chosen one and that you revere him greatly you, there was a great there, a great, there is no way I can describe a great fear and love in the hearts of Muslims toward Mohammed.
Sid: And the fact that he was uneducated and to write the Koran did that impact you?
Reza: Really you consider that’s, the Muslim’s believe that that’s the beauty and miracle of the Koran that it was written by an illiterate person. Meaning that he couldn’t come up with those, a matter of fact there was a verse in Koran that says “That if you do not accept our message then come up with a book better than this.” As a matter of fact a group of Arabs have and they have written a better book than the Koran.
Sid: And what is that?
Reza: It’s a known book that a group of Arabs scholars has written in a better poetic format of Arabic and better…
Sid: So it’s the same as the Koran just better choice of words.
Reza: Exactly.
Sid: Okay, now you, some Swedish people start talking to you about Jesus, the begin teaching you why did you even listen to them?
Reza: Well, when I came to Sweden I was in confusion coming out of what’s been happening in Iran, I was a year in America. Went back to Sweden , or to Iran to get involve with the revolution and coming back to Iran there was chaos of hatred and division and so I wanted to leave the country, there was something on the inside of me was urging me the whole time that I need to leave the country. And I said to my mother one day, I said “I’m leaving this land again and I will not ever again come back here.” And so I left, and this time I went to Sweden and met an America girl, exchange student, who was a Christian, and she impressed me greatly and through her I met two Swedish missionaries who I was their first product, their first if you would laboratory experiment. And they had been working among foreigners for many years without any result. To me they were two of the most naïve weak group of people and I thought I could take advantage of them. And of course the more I got involved with them and they took me to their homes, loved on me the more I was convicted that I was in darkness.
Sid: And one night you prayed to know Jesus and nothing happened, but the next day what happened?
Reza: You know when they gave me a Bible in Persian and when I read that Bible it really brought a lot of conviction to my heart. So one night I prayed after six months of just fighting this. I said, “Jesus are you the Son of God, are you what the Bible says You are? Then show yourself to me.” I asked for an appearance, I said, “I if You show yourself to me I will, if you hear this prayer and show yourself to me I will give you my life.” And I went to bed and the following morning it was my custom to get up and pray before the sunrise, and when I got up…
Sid: I wish more Christians would have the same custom but go ahead.
Reza: You know it’s amazing what a zeal Muslims have when it comes to prayer and fasting.
Sid: Listen, I have always felt I want to get about a dozen young Orthodox Jews that immediately come to know Jesus and not get them, have them end up like normal Christians, have them walk on water. But I think maybe I’m going to change it, I want six Orthodox Jews and six Muslims young that come to the Lord would that be a team, or would that be something?
Reza: It would be awesome. [Laughing] Actually we do have them, in our team we have a lot of Muslims that are just on fire for Jesus.
Sid: Okay so the next morning what happened?
Reza: The next morning I sat on my bed and I’m not a morning person, so the morning prayers was very difficult for me, because you have to get up and wash a special washing, cleansing and then standing before Mecca and repeating these nonsense words in Arabic. And I sat on my bed I heard the voice of God, it was an internal voice, which I had never experienced in all these years of praying as a Muslim. And that voice said, “Reza,” called my name actually said, “Reza, you don’t need to pray like this anymore, your sins are forgiven you.” And He wasn’t so much of what I heard it was so much of what I felt that touched me. You know as a Muslim you just carry such a burden constantly pleasing God, just a guilt, guilt conscience on you constantly, and that day that conscience of guilt was just lifted from me, I felt like a baby. And I put my bed back on that pillow again and I slept like a baby. I don’t ever remember up to that point I ever slept that well and that was the beginning of my journey with the Lord.
Sid: Reza, I just want to whet the appetite of our listeners right now you just got back from a campaign in India what did you see with your very eyes, just briefly?
Reza: Well, we saw first night that we had about 80,000 Hindu’s came to Christ and many blind eyes.
Sid: Did you get that, 80,000 Hindus; people from another religion came to Jesus. Did they see many signs and wonders and was that the catalyst that God used?
Reza: Exactly, many first night was many blind eyes, second night were crippled people, and then the third night were deaf and deaf mute.
Sid: Listen we’re out of time right now, we’ll pick up right here on tomorrow’s broadcast Mishpochah; but Reza has a book must book that so few Christians really from a simplistic viewpoint really understand Islam and what they’re up to. And I mean, the percentage of people that are turning to Islam and black Islam in the United States, you really got to understand this because if a Christian doesn’t understand this how can a Christian pray? How can a Christian evangelize?
Tags: It's Supernatural, Sid Roth
Tags: It's Supernatural, Sid Roth