DAY 11

Let’s Learn

Reading, chanting, or listening to the Quran is especially important to Muslims during Ramadan. Many Muslims strive to read the Quran in Quranic Arabic, a form of Arabic that is different from what people speak at home or on the street. A group of North African immigrant women take a Quranic Arabic class during the school year. It helps to fill their days while their children are in school, gives an instant sense of community with other Muslim women in their new Muslim-minority home, and builds a sense of tradition and pride in their religious culture. It also offers the possibility of earning favor with Allah. They believe chanting the Quran—without mistakes—will help them gain favor with Allah. One of the women said she doesn’t really understand the words, but she believes that chanting them is valuable because it increases her chances of getting into paradise. 

Arabs of Brazil

Islam came to Brazil in the mid-16th century through enslaved African Muslims, primarily from Nigeria, who were forcibly transported to the country. At the time, most Brazilians were nonliterate, but Muslims learned to read and write in Quranic Arabic so they could study the Quran together . Today, the largest concentration of Muslims in Brazil lives in São Paulo.

From the Word

Matthew 5:14-16

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Let’s Pray

• Pray that believers will let the light of Jesus shine bright and beautiful before their Muslim neighbors.
• Pray for more Muslims to read God’s Word and let His Holy Spirit convict them and draw them to faith in Jesus.
• Praise God for the immeasurable gift of His Word.

Father, while Muslims are going to great lengths this month to earn favor with Allah, Jesus-followers look different. Instead of trusting in their own good deeds to help them earn favor with You, they have trusted in the work of Christ alone for their salvation. As these believers live in such a countercultural way, I pray that their light will shine before others so that the watching world may see their good works and give glory to You in heaven. In Brazil and around the world, draw Muslims to see the peace You alone can offer them. Father, during Ramadan, may Muslims in Brazil desire to read the Bible to see how it is different than their scriptures and see that You are the only way to salvation. Thank You, Lord, for Bible translations in Portuguese and Arabic.