Over the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset to gain favor from Allah and to prove their devoutness to him. It is not uncommon for Christians to think, “I should give them space during this month. It’s not a good time to talk to them about Jesus.” This couldn’t be further from the truth!
It is actually because your Muslim friend is fasting that you should try to share the Good News with them this month. They are spiritually focused– even more so than they are the rest of the year. Ramadan is required of every Muslim, from the most spiritually strict and devout to those who are religiously slack.
Because spiritual things are on Muslims’ minds during Ramadan, it is a great opportunity for Christians to do more than pray for them. Now is the time to engage with them in deep, heartfelt conversations about Jesus.
Questions to ask your Muslim friend while they are fasting
We believe that one of the best ways to get your Muslim friend to ask you questions is to ask them questions first! This allows you to understand where they are coming from in their beliefs so that you can speak truth into their hearts. Asking them questions also proves to them that you care about them and their thoughts and it builds trust between you.
You can ask them these questions that are particularly good at leading into a conversation about Christ:
Do you believe that your fasting gets you into paradise?
How does fasting make you feel towards Allah?
Do you have a personal motivation for fasting or do you do it because it’s mandatory?
Did you know that Christians also fast? (Read our post about this!)
Suggested Bible passages and stories to share during Ramadan
We all have our favorite Bible passages, verses, and stories that have had a great impact on our lives. This is also true about Muslims who have become followers of Jesus. By walking alongside hundreds of Muslims who submitted their life to Christ, we found out that there are specific passages that have opened the Muslims’ eyes to the truth about Jesus and who He is. Feel free to share some of the following passages, but also allow God’s Spirit to guide you to any others. He will show you!
Matthew 5-7: The Sermon on the Mount is revolutionary for the Muslim, especially during Ramadan. Jesus teaches about how to pray, fast, give, and love our enemies in a way Muslims have never heard of before.
Luke 15: The Story of the Prodigal Sons replaces the picture of an Allah who is impersonal with the reality of who God is, which is a loving Father.
John 4: The story of the Samaritan Woman is a good peek into the nature of Jesus and highlights that He is the awaited Messiah. The story also reflects Jesus’ true love towards a fallen woman and how He treated her with honor.
Mark 4 or Matthew 15: The story of Jesus calming the storms emphasizes that He is the Creator who controls nature, and He is also the One who is able to calm the storms in our lives.
How to talk about Jesus
Once you’ve started a spiritual conversation with your Muslim friend, you can share the Gospel with them in a few ways. First, you can share your own personal testimony, and how at one point in your life you chose to put your trust in Jesus and follow Him. You can also share passages from the Bible with them– like your favorite verse or one of the stories from above. Finally, you can share the Gospel with them by talking about the person of Jesus, because they already have some basic knowledge about Jesus and they call Him, Prophet Isa (pronounced, eye-e-sa).
You don’t need to follow a script to effectively share the Gospel with your Muslim friend. Remember to focus on one main point: the fact that we cannot earn salvation, but that Jesus paid the price so that we don’t need to. This is especially relevant to your Muslim friend during Ramadan because they are currently working on fasting to gain Allah’s favor in hopes that he’ll let them into paradise when they die. Emphasizing God’s grace and unconditional love will speak directly to your Muslim friend’s heart because in Islam they can never truly know if they did enough to be saved.
Prayer
Dear Jesus, thank you for dying so that we could have a relationship with you. Please allow my Muslim friend’s heart to be stirred with curiosity this month as they follow Islam’s rules. Please give me the opportunity to speak into their life with love and truth! Amen.
