- Gulshan Esther
Gulshan Esther is a
Pakistan iChristian , a convert fromIslam , and the author (with co-writerThelma Sangster ) of the book "The Torn Veil ".Early life
Esther was born in 1952 to a wealthy and prominent family of
Jhang in the Punjab, Pakistan. At the age of six months, she became ill withTyphoid Fever and was thereafter paralyzed on her left side. At the age of 14, in the search for a cure for her paralysis, her father brought her to England to see a specialist, who declared her beyond healing and recommended prayer. From England, Esther proceeded directly on a pilgrimage toMecca with her father and two maids. Despite many prayers and great faith, on thisHajj Esther was disappointed not to have been healed, but her faith inAllah never wavered.Conversion
In her book, Esther reports that beginning after her father's death when she was 16 years old, she began to hear the voice of Jesus, encouraging her to read about him in the
Quran . At the age of 19, she says she had a vision of Jesus and twelve other radiant beings in her bedroom at 3am, just before morning prayers. At that time, her limbs were instantly and completely healed. At the same time He healed her, Esther recounts that Jesus said, "What you have seen now with your eyes you must take to my people," then he taught herThe Lord's Prayer and told her one more time before departing, "I want you to be my witness." As a result of her healing, Esther immediately became a local celebrity.Later, in light of some hostility from Muslims who didn't like her testimony that Jesus had healed her, Esther began to wonder why He was considered an unimportant or peripheral character by Muslims. She further began to question why, if Jesus could heal the sick and raise the dead, was he considered less important than
Prophet Muhammed , who could not perform these feats. She also puzzled over the fact that the Quran contained almost no information or teachings about Jesus, even while stating that he was a noble and favored prophet. Esther wrote thatThe Lord's Prayer taught her that Jesus has primacy over anyprophet , and is proof of the Kingship of Jesus, since it was He who taught her the prayer (during their brief encounter) and it is He who will establish the earthly kingdom of God upon his return from Heaven.A great deal of persecution came to Esther following her conversion, including the loss of a large inheritance, being jailed without charges for a month, and the threat of immediate murder from two of her brothers.
Today
Gulshan Esther now lives in
Oxford ,England . She travels widely on speaking tours, on which she discusses her book and answers questions about her faith. [ [http://www.authortracker.ca/author.asp?a=authorid&b=EstherG AuthorTracker.com ] ] Her book has sold over 200,000 copies.Quotes
On her visit to England in 1966 (from pages 16 and 17 of The Torn Veil):
On her conversion to Christianity (from page 71 of The Torn Veil):
Explaining her religious belief after her conversion (from page 155 of The Torn Veil):
References
Further reading
* Gulshan Esther, Alistair Mark Dean, Thelma Sangster, "The Torn Veil: The Best-selling Story of Gulshan Esther",
Zondervan (1992), ISBN 055101153X.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
