Jawad Sabat was a zealous Mohammedan and diligently studied Islamic doctrine in his youth. To fulfill his mandatory religious duty, he set out on a pilgrimage tour with his friend Abdullah. First, they went to Mecca to fulfill their vows and then went to Kabul. After some time, while Jawad continued his pilgrimage, Abdullah stayed back in Kabul for few more days. There he somehow found an Arabic Bible and started reading it. He realized that Jesus Christ was not just a prophet but the Son of God Himself. As Abdullah publicly started professing, he was threatened and chased out of Kabul. So, Abdullah fled to Bukhara, Uzbekistan, where he reunited with his friend Jawad.
Furious at Abdullah’s conversion, Jawad had him arrested only to threaten him to recant his belief. But Abdullah refused to abjure Christ and said: “I will not deny my Lord.” He refused to renounce his faith though his two arms were severed. Finally, he was decapitated. Stunned at the turn of events, Jawad resigned himself to grief and remorse. He wandered to many places seeking peace and finally arrived at Madras, India. There he was appointed as an expounder of the Mohammedan law. During this time, he came across a copy of an Arabic New Testament distributed by the ‘Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge’. When he read it, he understood why his friend refused to let go of Christ. Jawad accepted Christ and was rechristened as Nathaniel after baptism.
Nathaniel committed the rest of his life to the advancement of the Gospel of Christ. Being a brilliant linguist, he assisted Henry Martyn in translating the Word of God into several languages, including Persian and Arabic. Later, Nathaniel is said to have spent his later years in Penang Island. There he met the Sultan of Acheh, Jauhar al-Alam Shah, who was in distress and led him to Christ. He was captured by Sultan Jauhar’s usurper and was drowned in the ocean for not stopping to preach the Gospel in Acheh.