A Muslim man who once adhered to a strict interpretation of Islam embraced Christianity after a “mighty man” with “blood-stained hands” saved him from certain death – twice. Al-Jamali, a former Muslim living in the Middle East, shared his miraculous story with Bibles for Mideast, an underground Christian ministry that distributes Bibles and conducts evangelism in Asia, South Africa and the Middle East.
In 2004, Al-Jamali visited Kanyakumari, the cape of South India, along with a close friend. While at the beach one day, tsunami waves, generated by by the massive magnitude 9.3 undersea earthquake off the coast of Banda Aceh, northern Sumatra, hit the shore. “Within seconds the waves battered the shore, wiping out everything. Thousands of people died,” he recalled.
Al-Jamali and his friend were trapped in the waves, and the strong undercurrent pulled them under. “Suddenly, I felt a strong and mighty man pick me up in his hands,” he said. “I really felt like a baby being carried by its mother. I could see blood stains on the man’s hands.”
The man told him, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will live, even though they die; and those who live and believe in me will never die.” He then carried Al-Jamali to the shore, completely unharmed. Unfortunately, his friend was never found.
“Hundreds of the bodies could not be identified,” Al-Jamali recalled. “While I watched, government authorities gathered them all up, poured gasoline over them, and set them alight. Certainly my friend would have been among them. If God had not saved me, I too would have been burned.”
Eleven years later on the same day, Al-Jamali, now back in the Middle East and married to two different women, was driving his car along with one of his wives when he got in a terrible car accident. While his wife died from her injuries, Al-Jamali miraculously survived. “But I felt the same thing I had back on the day of the tsunami,” he said. “A strong, mighty man held me, carrying me like a baby in the arms of its mother. I saw the same blood stains on his hands and realized he was the same man who had rescued me from the tsunami.”
That night in the hospital, the man who had saved him from both the tsunami and accident visited Al-Jamali. “I was very happy to see him,” he said. “I held his hands and asked him to sit beside me. The man revealed himself to be Jesus Christ – and asked Al-Jamali, “Do you believe me?”
“Yes Lord, I believe,” he answered. “But what about my wife?”
“You need only one wife,” Jesus responded. “Lead a life with her, and live for me.” He then vanished.
Al-Jamali met with two pastors from Bibles for Mideast, who shared with him the truth of the Gospel. He began to secretly attend worship services at an underground house church and share his newfound faith his wife. While she refused to listen, even becoming angry and violent at times, Al-Jamali continued to pray for her.
“One day she slipped on the floor and broke her hip,” he said. “She needed surgery, and afterwards, in severe pain, could only rest at home. Whenever I prayed silently over her, she felt some relief but when I stopped, the pain would return. Slowly though, she began to understand the power of prayer.”
Eventually, she allowed Pastor Paul, a leader with Bibles for Mideast, to pray over her. Then, something amazing happened: “While Pastor Paul prayed, we all heard some breaking or joining sounds coming from her hip area, and she was totally healed!” Al-Jamali said. “We had a consultation with her doctor that same day, and since she no longer needed them, all the materials that had been surgically implanted to repair the broken hip were removed.”
Today, Al-Jamali and his family worship at Assembly of Loving God, the church organized by Bibles for Mideast. Bibles for Mideast continues its underground ministry of distributing Bibles in “highly restricted areas,” some of which are very hostile to Christianity. These include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.