To reinvigorate their faith, Akram believed that Muslims must begin paying attention not just to Muhammad, but to the prophets that preceded him. Too often, Muslims skimmed over the prophetic stories in the Quran. “A big mistake,” he said, peering out through his spectacles at the crowd. The five major prophets—Nuh (Noah), Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), Isa (Jesus), and Muhammad “are the examples for the believers, at every stage of their life. If we don’t know about Maryam [Mary], or Isa, we cannot live in the world as believers!”
