I asked for a sign from heaven. He found me in a coffee shop
Coffee with the Prophet A 21st Century Encounter with Muhammad
By Mark A. Gabriel Former Lecturer of Islamic History at Al-Azhar University
A Word from Dr. Mark A. Gabriel
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
I asked for a sign from heaven. He found me in a coffee shop
Coffee with the Prophet A 21st Century Encounter with Muhammad
By Mark A. Gabriel Former Lecturer of Islamic History at Al-Azhar University
What Happened to Mustafa?
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
The washing in Islamic culture is one of the most emotional times after a loved one had died.
Five of us gathered in the room—my father, my older brother, my Uncle Hamzi, the hanuti (a Muslim specially trained in burial rituals), and me. We washed Sayid’s body with water and anointed it with fine perfume.
We heard a soft knock on the door, and my sister Hoda said quietly, “The shrouds are here.”
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
The neighborhood had already heard about Sayid, and at dawn prayers there were tear-stained faces all over the mosque.
I led the prayers and then my older brother and I ran to my car and raced through the empty streets to the hospital.
My heart sank when we walked into the room.
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
When I woke up, I was lying face down on the floor.
My left knee was scraped and I could feel a lump on my forehead, but I didn’t care about that.
My brain was so full of questions that I felt as if it would explode.
Was Sheikh Ahmed really the prophet? Or was he lying?
Was he just a crazy old man with delusions of grandeur?
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
Even on the roof top, the heat from the day still hung over the city and no breeze stirred the air.
I thought about Sayid in the hospital. I knew he probably had sun stroke; he had all the symptoms.
Tonight could decide whether he would live or die.
As I waited for Sheikh Ahmed, I knelt on one of the rugs on the cement floor and started to plead with Allah for my brother.
“Oh, Allah, have mercy,” I begged. “This cannot be Sayid’s destiny.” Tears slid down my cheeks.
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
When Sheikh Ahmed saw me in the morning, the first thing he said was, “I see you are growing your beard.”
I had two days worth of stubble, but he was pleased.
“Good for you, my son. You are putting action to your words.
You need to do that in other areas, too.”
Sayid never came out of his room for the call to prayer. I hoped that Sheikh Ahmed didn’t notice.
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
I asked for a sign from heaven. He found me in a coffee shop
Coffee with the Prophet A 21st Century Encounter with Muhammad
By Mark A. Gabriel Former Lecturer of Islamic History at Al-Azhar University
Trapped
After the tension of seeing the talk show on the television, I thought it would be good to get outside.
Sheikh Ahmed’s demands were beginning to make me feel uncomfortable and guilty, and I just wanted to avoid controversial issues.
“Would you like to come up to the roof with me and play some Siga?” I asked Sheikh Ahmed. “I’d like to relax in the fresh air.”
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
The show host continued, “Our second topic for today is the question, ‘Is Muhammad above criticism?’ To introduce this question, let’s talk about the cartoons that were made and published by the Danish newspaper. You have heard how these cartoons criticized Muhammad.
For example, one of them made Muhammad’s turban look like an atom bomb.
We disagree with these cartoons because they were not respectful of the Prophet and his teaching.”
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
At dinner that night, we enjoyed light conversation, especially the Egyptian jokes that my younger brother Sayid told.
He was the entertainer of the family, and he made a point of listening for new jokes wherever he went.
Sheikh Ahmed smiled at times, but he never laughed.
After dinner, my mother and sister turned on the television in the living room.
My younger brother was lounging on one of the couches.
Sheikh Ahmed and I sat on chairs to the side of the room as he finished drinking another cup of coffee.
As my mother flipped through the channels, she stopped at a talk show that we had never seen before called “Daring Questions.”
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
I was still in shock from Sheikh Ahmed’s strong lecture as we walked to the Al-Azhar outdoor cafeteria for some sandwiches and coffee.
As we were looking for a place to sit, I heard a familiar voice calling me, “Dr. Rahal, welcome back. Please come join me.”
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
On the drive from my family’s house to Al-Azhar, I had to cross the Bridge of the University over the River Nile.
I was just about to drive over the bridge when Sheikh Ahmed said sharply,
“Mustafa! What is that at the top of that high rise?”
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
Going to bed and sleeping are two different things for me.
Even though I was tired, I couldn’t sleep.
I thought I heard sounds coming from Sheikh Ahmed’s room, as if he were talking to someone.
I couldn’t resist the temptation to put my ear to the wall.
He was speaking in a foreign language again, and I was pretty sure that it was Urdu, the major language of Pakistan.
Finally, around 1 a.m., I fell asleep still hearing the muffled sounds of Sheikh Ahmed’s late-night conversations.
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
When we got to the baggage claim area, I started looking for my father.
I smiled when I saw him, standing there in the midst of a small crowd of relatives and friends.
There was my older brother Ibrahim, my younger brother Sayid, my Uncle Hamzi, two friends from primary school, and two friends from Al-Azhar.
I didn’t really expect my father to come by himself. After all, the return of a hajji is a cause for celebration.
My father hugged and kissed me first.
“Welcome home, my son. Allah has blessed us by your return.
” Then he turned to Sheikh Ahmed, “We are honored to have you as our guest.”
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
The four-hour drive passed quickly, and by mid afternoon we arrived at the King Abdul Aziz International Airport just outside of Jeddah City.
The airport was crowded and chaotic—typical for the hajj season.
Even though I was uncomfortable with our conversation about 9/11 in the car, I still looked forward to introducing Sheikh Ahmed to my family.
“Please have a seat while I find out about an airplane ticket for you,” I said to Sheikh Ahmed. “There is no reason for us both to stand.”
“Thank you,” he said. “Your hospitality is most gracious.”
I joined the long line for the Egyptair ticket agent. I tried to be optimistic, but I finding an empty seat on a plane to Cairo looked impossible.
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
I continued to drive toward the Jeddah airport, thinking about what Sheikh Ahmed had said.
I felt uncomfortable that he sensed my doubt, but he also seemed very patient with me.
If he is willing to answer questions, then I might as well ask them, I thought. The only problem is that I might now like the answer.
Out loud I said, “Sheikh Ahmed, what do you think the Prophet would say about 9/11? Would he agree with attacking the United States?
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
Sheikh Ahmed didn’t look at the menu, but he asked the server, “Can you do a special order for me?” “We will do our best,” she replied pleasantly.
“I’d like plain yogurt with honey and a dish of dates on the side. Can you do that?”
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
It was a short drive from Medina to al-Abwa, a tiny undeveloped village about fourteen miles (23 kilometers) from Medina, where the grave of Muhammad’s mother was located.
As we bumped over the crumbling two-lane road Sheikh Ahmed asked me, “Tell me more about your mother.”
I answered, “She is one of the sweetest, most loving ladies you will ever meet.
She especially likes serving guests who come to our house.
When she was young, she was considered one of the most beautiful girls in our entire region.” “The Prophet’s mother was also known for her beauty and kindness,” he said.
“And his father was known as one of the bravest young men in Mecca. Every girl in Mecca wanted to be engaged to him.”
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
Heat was shimmering on the highway as I reached the city of Medina, its skyline dominated by one thing—the massive Mosque of the Prophet with its ten graceful white minarets reaching toward the cloudless sky.
No matter how many times you see it, the Mosque of the Prophet instills a feeling of awe, even with the flocks of hotels clustered around it like feeding birds.
The complex can accommodate a half million people at one time.
Muhammad built the original mosque the first year after he emigrated to Medina, but then it barely more than a shack with palm trunks for pillars and a roof made out of palm fronds covered with mud.
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
After dawn prayer the next morning, I hurried to the coffee shop.
As soon as I opened the door, I saw him sitting there in the same leather chair he had occupied the night before.
I greeted him according to Islamic tradition by saying, “Peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you from Allah.”
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
The air-conditioned interior of the mall was a huge relief from the heat outside.
I quickly picked out a sandwich and asked for a cup of plain black coffee.
This was one of those Western-style coffee shops with padded chairs and coffee tables. Why not be comfortable for a change? I thought, and sank down into a black leather chair.
I started to eat my sandwich, and I didn’t pay any attention to the people going in and out of the shop.
It was mostly men coming to get a cup of coffee and then continue on their way.
Sometimes a group of women would come in, covered from head to toe with black robes (burqas) and head scarves (hijab).
They would sit together in a booth, lifting the bottoms of their scarves so they could sip their lattes and cappuccinos.
There were no men and women sitting together to talk, which didn’t surprise me.
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
Maybe I was too tired and hungry yesterday, I thought. Satan was confusing me.
Maybe Allah will give me a sign today.
I resolved to concentrate on my worship no matter what I felt.
The day before I collected seven pebbles from hills of Muzdalifah.
I slipped them into my bag and immediately after dawn prayers set off with the crowds for the desert plain of Mina where we would do the ritual of stoning Satan.
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
When I finished memorizing the Quran at the age of twelve, I wanted to do more than quote the Quran:
I wanted to live it and handle the situations around me according to its words.
At the same time, my teachers at Al-Azhar elementary school always told us how Islam is superior and how Jews and Christians hate Muslims and want to destroy Islam.
That is why I was so bothered by a tiny Christian church in the Christian neighborhood next to my neighborhood.
A priest lived in a little house not far from the church.
I looked at that church and that house, and I thought, They have no right to live here next to us.
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
I woke up before dawn, and stared at the ceiling of the tiny tent where I had spent the night.
If Allah is going to send me a sign, this is the day, I said to myself. This may be the best chance I will have in my entire life.
It was the second day of the pilgrimage—the most holy day because all the pilgrims would gather to worship Allah at Mount Arafat where Muhammad gave his final sermon to the Muslim nation fourteen hundred years ago.
Most people would stay in the plain, but my goal was to climb the mountain all the way to the place where Muhammad stood.
I thought, If I stand where the Prophet stood, Allah may notice me.
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
I asked for a sign from heaven. He found me in a coffee shop
Coffee with the Prophet A 21st Century Encounter with Muhammad
By Mark A. Gabriel Former Lecturer of Islamic History at Al-Azhar University
I Am a Hafiz
I am a hafiz. If you know the meaning of that word, then you already know a lot about me, and I know something about you.
A hafiz is a person who has memorized the Quran, and I became a hafiz when I was twelve.
From then on I was known as Mustafa the Hafiz. Even adults greeted me with respect in our neighborhood, and during the holy month of Ramadan I had my special place in the mosque where each day I would recite one thirtieth of the Quran so that I would finish the entire book by the day the fast ended.
My family was deeply committed to Islam. My father never missed a prayer time, even when he was sick.
I remember one time he had kidney stones, and he was doubled over in pain, but he went to the dawn prayer before he finally agreed to go to the hospital.
He owned a furniture factory, and he was known for his generosity in giving to the poor.
At the end of Ramadan month, when the fast was broken, he would pay for huge feasts for the poor people of our community.
He treated my mother with great respect, and he never married any more wives, even though Egyptian law permitted him to marry up to four at one time.
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
I asked for a sign from heaven. He found me in a coffee shop
Coffee with the Prophet A 21st Century Encounter with Muhammad
By Mark A. Gabriel Former Lecturer of Islamic History at Al-Azhar University
Dedicated to Naguib Mahfouz (1912–2006) Winner of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature
Dr. Mahfouz, I miss your joyful, intellectual meetings at the Rish Coffee Shop in the center of Cairo. The words you said one night are still ringing in my ears. You encouraged us:
Write! Don’t fear the religious taboos, which are the reason for our nation’s backward living. Our nation has used the past to create a giant prison, and we are the prisoners locked in it. Be like birds; turn your pens into wings and fly with our people into the sky of religious freedom.
Dr. Mahfouz, I cannot have coffee with you anymore, but I think that Coffee with the Prophet would make you proud. I am answering your challenge to turn my pen into a wing, and I am flying into the sky of religious freedom. I am praying not just for my people but for the whole world to fly with me. Your student in literature, Mark A. Gabriel
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
I asked for a sign from heaven. He found me in a coffee shop
Coffee with the Prophet A 21st Century Encounter with Muhammad
By Mark A. Gabriel Former Lecturer of Islamic History at Al-Azhar University
Mustafa is a good Muslim; in fact, he is nearly perfect. He memorized the Quran by age 12. He graduated from Al-Azhar with a doctorate in Islamic History and Culture. He is one of the youngest lecturers in university history. And he just finished his first hajj.
But in reality he is on the edge of abandoning his faith and no one knows it. He is tormented by the thought that a family secret from his childhood may be corrupting his soul.
Little does he know he will find the answers to his questions in a coffee shop in Mecca. There he meets a man with a passion for iced lattes who looks like a desert tribesman but speaks like an Islamic scholar.
Hoping to absorb the charismatic stranger’s unapologetic faith, Mustafa invites him to be a guest in his family’s home. Mustafa soon realizes that this tribesman has secrets of his own. What does he carry in his rough brown bag? Who does he talk with late at night? And how does he know so much about Mustafa?
When the stranger reveals his identity, Mustafa makes a decision that could cost him his life.
Author Biography:
A former lecturer at Al-Azhar University, Mark A. Gabriel is a widely-sourced expert on Islamic teaching and the Middle East. He is the author of several best-selling books about Islam including Islam and Terrorism. For the protection of his relatives, Dr. Gabriel changed his Muslim name to a Western name.
Get your copy from the nearest book store Or online from Amazon.com
