The founder of Christian was a man named Jesus. Jesus was a Jewish carpenter who lived at a time when Israel was part of the Roman Empire. According to the New Testament, He was the Son of God, born of a and destined to die for mankind's sin. Jesus's ministry did not begin until He was around 30 years of age; when He began to preach in the tabernacle. Jesus's words amazed His Jewish contemporaries; they were unlike anything they had heard from the religious leaders of that time.

Jesus began to travel around Israel, proclaiming that He was the Messiah and that deliverance was at hand for the Jewish nation. (although not in a way they expected) Jesus performed many miracles: He healed the sick, drove out demons, and cured blindness. Through His miracles and sermons, Jesus acquired twelve disciples who helped Him in His ministry. Jesus's words and miracles angered the Jewish religious leaders, the Pharisees, and they plotted to kill Him. Through treachery the Pharisees captured Jesus and turned him over to Pontias Pilate, a Roman governor of that time. Pilate found no fault with Jesus, but the Pharisees managed to get Jesus executed through political machinations. Jesus was taken to the hill of Calvary, where He died on the cross. A wealthy Jewish citizen arranged to have Jesus's body covered in linen and placed in an underground tomb.

Even though Jesus was dead, the Pharisees still had one last trick up their sleeves. They convinced Pilate that Jesus's disciples would attempt to carry away His body as proof that Jesus had risen from the dead; a pair of Roman soldiers watched over the tomb to ensure that no one disturbed its contents. However, three days after Jesus had died, the tomb was found empty and the guards had fled. Jesus was then seen by the disciples on several occasions; some time later He rose to heaven, giving instructions to the disciples on how to continue His ministry.

Abraham, the founder of Judaism, led a rather interesting life. Originally, Abraham was named Abram, and lived in a city named Ur. Ur's inhabitants were polytheistic -- they believed in many different gods, and worshipped statues (idols) of their gods. Abram, however, was a monotheist -- he believed in only one God, and did not worship idols. Abram's beliefs later led himself and his family to leave Ur and settle in the land of Canaan.

God made a covenant with Abram, saying that he would make Abram a father of many nations, and that Abram's descendent would outnumber the stars in the sky. Because of this covenant, God changed Abram's name to Abraham, a name that means 'father of many'. There was still on slight problem, though; Abraham was one hundred years old, his wife Sarah was almost ninety, and they had not borne any children. When Abraham was then told by God that wife Sarah would give birth to a child, he laughed and declared such a thing was impossible. However, when Sarah turned ninety, she gave birth to a child and called him Isaac -- a name that means "laugh"!

In Islam, Muhammed is considerd the last Messenger to mankind. All the previous

Prophets were given their revelations to their people at a certain time

and development level, to heal their problems and introduce or revive

certain aspects of religion. When people reached a certain level of

understanding and communication became easier, the final revelation to

humanity was sent down to Muhammed, to be guidance to all people of all

times.

Childhood: Muhammed is a descendant of Ishmael (son of Abraham). He was

born to the tribe of Quraish; a respectable tribe in Mecca. As a child,

in God's ultimate plan, he was faced with situations so that he would

learn patience and perseverance. His father died two months before he

was born, and his mother also died when he was six. Then he went to the

care of his grandfather, but he died two years later.

Teens: Muhammed then went under the care of his uncle, Abu Talib. He

used to help his uncle and his family, and was a shepherd. He never

believed in the senseless bloodshed between his tribes and others, and

was known by people as As-sidiq, the truthful one, and Al-amin, the

trustworthy one.

Adulthood: His uncle was facing difficulties managing his family, and

Muhammed helped in with his trade. Known for his honesty, a noble woman, Khadija made an offer to him to manage business affairs on a trip to Syria. She was impressed by his character and honestly, and the two were married soon afterwards.

Revelation: Muhammed used to retreat to cave in Mount Hira' nearby

alone, which was a place of peace and consolation to him. One night, at

the age of forty, in the cave, archangel Jibreel (Gabrael) came up to

him in the form of a man, commanding him to 'read' (understand, or

proclaim what is right). He replied that he 'wasn't a reader'. Muhammed

was illiterate; could neither read nor write. He then commanded him

again, to which he gave the same reply. This happened a third time,

until Jibreel told him the first revealed verses of the Quran.

"Read in the name of your Lord and Cherisher, who created

Created man, out of a clot of congealed blood:

Read, and your Lord is most bountiful

He who taught (the use of ) the Pen

Taught man that which he knew not."

( Quran surah 96: ayat 1-5)

The Beginning: For the first three years, Muhammed (pbuh) preached

secretly to his family and close friends. Khadija, his wife, was the

first to believe in him as a chosen Messenger, and consoled him with

that when he came back from the cave astonished and scared of what

happened. The first man to believe was his close companion Abu Bakr. Ali, Abu

Talib's son, saw the Prophet and his wife prostrating and was amazed by

their new faith, was a boy of ten when he believed.

Hostility: When the three years passed, he called openly to people to

follow Islam. This open invitation to people caused him and his

followers a lot of hostility and oppression, especially to some of the

weaker people. The Prophet was once attacked, and in an attempt to stop

the attack, Harith ibn Abi Halah was killed, and was the first martyr in

Islam. The Muslims were forced to leave and seek refuge out of Mecca,

and most did, leaving home and their belongings behind. The Prophet also

emigrated to Madina later (which is known as Hegra, and is the marking

point of the Islamic year.) accompanied by his friend Abu Bakr.

The Muslim community: The Prophet got to Madina, where its people

happily and joyfully received the emigrants and the Prophet when he

came. There, he built a mosque, and the Muslim community flourished.

Quraish and other tribes tried endlessly to fight and destroy Islam, but

more and more people accepted Islam. The small community faced a lot of

battles with their enemies in order to keep their faith. Some battles

with the enemies of Islam were the Battle of Badr, Uhud, and various

others. The Prophet took part in all the battles, and in some instances

it was hard to tell him out from the others.

The Conquest of Mecca: Quraish had broken a pact made between them and

the Muslims, in which there would not be war between the two parties and

their supporting allies. When the Prophet sent to them to ask for a

compensation for it, they didn't agree, and the Prophet decided to

advance to Mecca. They entered the city, and only few people resisted

the Muslims. The Prophet then addressed the people and declared an

amnesty to them. The astonished people of Mecca went to him and

accepted Islam.

Mission Accomplished:"O people, listen to my words carefully, for I know not whether I would meet you again on such an occasion...."

At the tenth year of Hegra, the Prophet addressed his people in his last Hajj, and his speech was known as the farewell speech.

"..so regard the life and property of every Muslim as sacred. Remember

that you will indeed appear before Allah and answer for your deeds....O

people, your wives have a certain right over you and you have certain

rights over them. Treat them well and with kindness for you have taken

them as trust from Allah....O People, none is higher than the other

unless he is more obedient to Allah. No Arab is better than a non-Arab

except in piety.... I leave behind me two things if you follow you will

never fail, the Book of Allah and the example of his Prophet...".

"Muhammed is no more than a Messenger: many were the

Messengers that passed away before him. If he died or were slain, will

you then turn back on your heels? If any did turn back on his heels, not the least harm will he do to Allah; But Allah will swiftly reward those who (serve him) with gratitude." (Quran 3:144)

Sunna: The life of the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) is an example to us all

in our lives. That is why there is Sunna: the teachings, ways and

sayings of the Prophet in different situations. 'Sayings' alone is

called Hadith. A person often does something that is Sunna, such as

praying extra prayers along with the main daily prayers.