Lesson video

Hi there, my young scholars of religion.

My name is Miss Marx, and I'm going to be your religious education teacher today.

Today we're going to be doing all about the Muslim festival of Id ul-Fitr, which is celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramadan when Muslims have been fasting.

We're going to look at why this is celebrated and how this might be celebrated today in the UK and around the world.

So when you're ready, let's go.

So by the end of this lesson today, you'll be able to explain what Id ul-Fitr is and how this is celebrated in the UK today.

So let's start with our key terms. Fasting, not doing certain actions such as eating or drinking.

Night of Power, also known as Laylat al Qadr, the night that the first revelation the Qur'an came to the Prophet Mohammed in the cave of Hira.

Ramadan, the month in which the Qur'an was first revealed to the Prophet Mohammed; the month when Muslims take part in obligatory fast.

And Zakat ul-Fitr, a donation to charity made in order to help other Muslims celebrate Id too.

So look out for those in today's lesson.

So our lesson today will have three sections; the Islamic calendar, Id ul-Fitr, and Id ul-Fitr in the UK today.

So let's start with our first section, the Islamic calendar.

The way groups mark time can show us what is or has been significant in a culture.

So the way the years are marked and the travelling through the year that we have can show us what's significant and important perhaps now, but also things about the history of that group.

The Gregorian calendar in Europe, so the calendar that you and I may be used to using, traditionally refers to the years as either B.

C.

or A.

D, or you might know them as C.

E.

and B.

C.

E.

, but where did these letters B.

C.

and A.

D.

come from then? What does it stand for, B.

C.

and A.

D? Do you know? Pause the video and have a think, and you could talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, B.

C.

stands for before Christ, and A.

D.

stands for Anno Domini, the year of our Lord.

So even by calling our years B.

C and A.

D, it shows the influence of Christian ideas on the cultures that use that calendar.

So we can see the influence of those ideas.

The Islamic calendar is counted as the years since the hijrah or the migration.

So sometimes they're called AH, after hijrah.

And here we've got a map showing Makkah and Madina in Saudi Arabia.

And this is where the hijrah or the migration took place.

And we've got an image representing this for us.

The year one AH was actually in 622 C.

E.

in the Gregorian calendar or A.

D.

when the Muslim community migrated from Makkah to Madina.

So the first year of the Muslim calendar is marked by this migration that happened, and it was very important and special within Islamic history.

That event was so important, the Islamic calendar is known as the Hijri calendar after the migration, the hijrah, that happened from Makkah to Madina.

And there are 12 months in Islamic Hijri calendar.

We've got Muharram, Safar, Rabi-ul-Awwal, Rabi-uth-Thani, Jumadal Oola, Jumadal Ukhra, Rajab, Ramadan, Shaban, Shawwal, Dhul Qa'dah, and Dhul Hijjah.

These are the 12 Islamic months of the Hijri calendar.

For most Muslims, the new year starts on the first day of Muharram.

These are lunar months, so the cycle is 11 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar.

So that's why the month of Ramadan, for example, moves kind of through the year of the Gregorian calendar and through the different seasons of the year.

Let's do a quick check.

There are 12 months in the Islamic Hijri calendar.

Is that true or false? Pause the video and have a go, and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done.

That is true, isn't it? There are 12 lunar months, but because they're lunar months rather than solar months, the year is 11 days shorter than in the Gregorian calendar.

So there are different events that happen in the Islamic year then, and the three months that we can think about are Muharram, Ramadan, and Dhul Hijjah.

Ashura happens on the 10th day of Muharram, and Ashura is especially important within Shi'a Islam.

It's important in Sunni Islam too, but that means 10, Ashura, So that's the 10th day of Muharram.

Fasting or sawm happens during Ramadan.

So Ramadan is a very important month of that fasting to which is part of the five pillars and the 10 obligatory acts, and that happens in the month of Ramadan.

And then in Dhul Hijjah is when Hajj happens, and also at the end of that month is when Id ul-Adha celebrated.

So we can see three of these months have these particularly important events that happen within them each year.

Muharram is Ashura, and for Sunni Muslims, this is an optional day of fasting.

For Shi'a Muslims, it commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussain.

In Ramadan, we have the month of fasting or sawm, and that is fasting from sunrise to sunset.

The Night of Power is celebrated during this month and also Id ul-Fitr celebrates the end of this month.

And then in Dhul Hijjah we've got Hajj.

The annual pilgrimage to Makkah happens during this month.

It's a once in a lifetime obligation, and Id ul-Adha is celebrated the end of that pilgrimage.

So here are three important months and three important events that happen within them in the Islamic year.

Now, it takes 33 years for the Islamic months to be on the same Gregorian dates again.

So I said for example, Ramadan falls in different seasons over time.

And here's Ilham to explain a bit more for us.

Ilham says, "I live in a city in the UK, which means that Ramadan being in the summer or the winter has a really big impact on how many hours of fasting I do each day.

I really like it when Ramadan falls in the summer, even though the days are longer, 'cause we can have community events like the interfaith iftar that I volunteer at." So I can imagine that the summer months are harder for the hours that have to be put in for the fasting, but as Ilham says, there's many more opportunities to have these kind of outdoor and community events together.

Thank you, Ilham.

Let's do a quick check.

Which month marks the start of the new Islamic year then? Was it Dhul Hijjah, Muharram, or Ramadan? Pause the video and have a go, and we'll see if you've got in a moment.

Well done.

It was Muharram.

Let's do a practise task to see what we've learned.

You're gonna use the image as a prompt and write an explanation about what the Islamic Hijri calendar is.

Use each of the words in the table in your explanation.

And your words are Hijri, migration, Muharram, Ramadan, and Dhul Hijjah.

So pause the video and have a go, write your explanation as to what the Islamic history calendar is, and we'll see what you've got in a moment.

Well done.

Some good thinking there.

So using the image as a prompt, I asked you to write an explanation about what the Islamic Hijri calendar is.

And you could have said, "The Islamic calendar is known as the Hijri calendar as it marks the years since the migration of the first Muslims to Mahdinah.

There are 12 lunar months in the Islamic year, including Muharram when Ashura is marked, or Ramadan when Muslims fast, and Dhul Hijjah when the Hajj pilgrimage takes place.

Well done.

So on to our second section then, Id ul-Fitr.

Well, Id ul-Fitr is very closely linked to the month of Ramadan, and it always falls at the end of the month of Ramadan.

So let's just remind ourselves why Ramadan is so important then.

So Ramadan is a month of fasting, sawm, from sunrise to sunset that all Muslims are obligated to take part in.

And that forms one of the five pillars as well as the 10 obligatory acts.

So all Muslims are fasting for the month of Ramadan.

And in the month of Ramadan, the Qur'an was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, which we just saw when we were thinking about the Night of Power being those first revelations to the Prophet Muhammad in the cave of Hira, so we know that Ramadan is important for that reason too.

And the Night of Power falls during those last 10 days of the month.

Well, the name Id ul-Fitr comes from Arabic, and it has this meaning.

We can always learn what the Arabic means to fully understand it more.

So we've got Id, which means a yearly festival, sometimes spelled as Eid, E-I-D.

And then Fitr, which comes from the Arabic root letters f, t, and r, which means to break or to split, e.

g.

, breaking a fast.

So if you think of sometimes you might have breakfast, break fast, in the morning when you haven't eaten all night, this is to do with breaking that fast, and this is what Fitr stands for in Id ul-Fitr.

So Id ul-Fitr is known as the festival of breaking the fast.

Which fast? The fast of Ramadan.

Sometimes it's called the Small Id in comparison to Id ul-Adha.

Id ul-Adha is sometimes called the Greater Id.

It lasts for a day longer than the celebrations for Id ul-Fitr.

So sometimes it's called the Small Id.

Sometimes it's called the Sweet Id, with many sweet foods being eaten.

And eating and food is a very important feature, part of the celebrations of the Id ul-Fitr.

So what happens during Id ul-Fitr then? Well there's Id prayer.

So many people make that extra special effort to get to the mosque to do Id prayers together on Id ul-Fitr.

Food is eaten.

And we said that that's a really key feature of this festival, isn't it? And often gifts and good wishes are given, and time is spent together as a family.

So people might say Id Mubarak to one another.

People might give gifts and donations to one another too.

But why might food feature as a part of celebrating Id, particularly this Id? Why might food feature as part of that? Pause the video and have a think, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, if it's the festival of breaking the fast, that is when people haven't eaten and drunk during the month of Ramadan, then this festival has that celebration of being able to eat together again, and so food really does feature heavily as part of this festival.

Let's do a quick check to see what we've learned then.

What does the term Id, or spelled Eid, mean in the phrase Id ul-Fitr? Which of these is what that term meant? Was it a type of sweet, a yearly festival, a sacrifice, or breaking fast? Pause the video, and we'll see what you've come up with in a moment.

Well done.

It was a yearly festival.

Although that was a bit of a trick question because sweets are often eaten during this time and Fitr means breaking a fast, but the Id bit means a yearly festival.

Well done.

So we said that fasting or sawm is one of the five pillars and one of the 10 obligatory acts as something that all Muslim are obligated to do.

But why does this happen during Ramadan then? What's the connection? Well, surah 2 can help us with this as a source of authority in the Qur'an.

It says, "Ramadan is the month in which the Qur'an was revealed.

Whoever of you witnesses the month, shall fast it." So where in here is the instruction for Muslims to perform fasting, and what is so special about the month of Ramadan according to this source then? Pause the video and have a reread, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me Well, we've got here that whoever witnesses this month should fast.

So we know that that's the instruction to fast, and it's because this is the month in which the Qur'an was revealed.

Well done.

Fasting is an instruction to follow and the Qur'an was revealed for the first time during this month.

But along with the Qur'an as a source of authority, we've also got the Hadith as a source of authority to support celebration of Id ul-Fitr then.

And a Hadith is narrations and stories about what the Prophet Mohamed did and said.

And we've got here, "The messenger of Allah," so that's the Prophet Muhammad, "forbade fasting on these two days, e.

g.

, the two Ids." You've got Id ul-Fitr and Id ul-Adha.

"On the first of them you break your fast and celebrate your festival, and are the second you eat from the meat of your sacrifice." So what does this Hadith tell Muslims about the two Ids and which part in particular refers to Id ul-Fitr then? Pause the video and have a reread, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well done, well it says here that fasting is not allowed on those two days.

So the fasting has been forbidden.

It's days for celebrating and not for fasting.

And then we have this phrase, "break your fast." So we know that relates to Id ul-Fitr because Id ul-Fitr is the festival of breaking the fast.

Muslims can't fast on the two Ids, and Id ul-Fitr is for breaking the fast and celebrating.

Well done.

Now, some Muslims may argue that Id ul-Fitr is the most important festival for Muslims, and Meryem and Iqbal are gonna give us their reasons here.

Meryem says, "Id ul-Fitr is at the end of Ramadan, so it's most important as the end of a month of great discipline and spiritual growth for the Muslim community." And Iqbal says, "I agree, and during Ramadan, Muslims remember the first revelations of the Qur'an.

The Qur'an is the ultimate authority for a Muslim so that's the most important." So they've both given us some really good reasons here why Id ul-Fitr might be seen as the most important festival for Muslims. But can you think of how someone could disagree with them or give a different point of view, perhaps about other festivals within Islam? Pause the video and have a think, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well done, so you could have brought in some reasons why Muslims might say Id ul-Adha is a more important festival, couldn't you? Well, we've seen here there's different reasons why Id ul-Fitr is important to Muslims. So let's together give one reason why Id ul-Fitr is important to Muslims. Hmm, I think because it celebrates the breaking of the fast.

It's that celebration of the end of Ramadan, which is a really tough month of fasting, isn't it, of spiritual discipline? So over to you.

Give two more months of why Id ul-Fitr is important to Muslims then.

Pause the video and have a go, and we'll see you done in a moment.

Well done, I've got here it celebrates the month when the Qur'an was first revealed and it's a time for families to come together with food.

Well done.

So let's do another practise task to see what we've learned.

Here is a full evaluation question.

You're going to write one paragraph in support of the statement.

Id ul-Fitr is the most important festival for Muslims. You would evaluate the statement considering arguments for and against, and in your response you would refer to Muslim teaching and give a justified conclusion.

But we are just going to do one paragraph in support of the statement.

And you might like to use the stems on the next slide.

You might like to use these.

Some Muslims would argue Id ul-Fitr is the most important festival because.

Id ul-Fitr is celebrated at the end of the month of Ramadan so.

And Muslims celebrate this because in the Qur'an it says.

And this is the most important festival because.

So pause the video and have a go.

Remember you're writing one paragraph in support of the statement that Id ul-Fitr is the most important festival.

Pause the video, have a go, and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done.

Some really good thinking there.

I asked you to write one paragraph in support of this statement.

Id ul-Fitr is the most important festival for Muslims. And you could have said, "Some Muslims would argue Id ul-Fitr is the most important festival because it celebrates the end of the month of discipline and spiritual growth.

Id ul-Fitr is celebrated at the end of Ramadan when Muslims are instructed to fast from sunrise to sunset and many focus on the revelations of the Qur'an during this month.

Muslims celebrate this because in the Qur'an it says that, 'Ramadan is the month in which the Qur'an was revealed, whoever witnesses the month shall fast it.

' Id ul-Fitr is thus the most important festival because it marks the end of this important month." Well done.

So on to our third and final section then, Id ul-Fitr in the UK today.

Muslims in the UK celebrate Id ul-Fitr at the end of the month of Ramadan.

And there's many Muslims who live in the UK.

And here's an example of a mosque in the UK.

It's the Cambridge Central Mosque.

There are 3.

9 million Muslims living in England and Wales.

This is taken from the 2021 census.

So we know that there's many, many Muslims who live in the UK, but in the UK there's no designated bank holidays for Id.

We have bank holidays in the UK for certain days where everyone can be on holiday together.

And we don't have this for the different Ids that there are in the Muslim calendar.

But many British Muslims will take time off work to be able to celebrate Id together.

After the Id prayers at the mosque, families might celebrate together and there's often community events.

So Noor and Ahmed are gonna talk to us about their experience of Id celebrations with their families then.

And Noor says, "I love Id ul-Fitr! I love being together with the family, we each get a new outfit and gifts.

My aunties and uncles often give me Id money too!" And Ahmed says, "Me and my brothers go for a haircut together too in time for Id and there's a really fun atmosphere in my local area as we all get ready.

I love visiting my cousins for Id ul-Fitr too." So both of them here have mentioned seeing their family.

Why might they see more of their family on the day of Id ul-Fitr then than other days? Pause the video and have a think, and you could talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

So whilst it's not a national bank holiday, many Muslims will take that time off of work to be able to spend time together, so maybe that's how come Noor and Ahmed can see many more of their family than they would do on a normal day.

But it's not only Muslims who have Muslim families who've been brought up Muslim who are gonna celebrate Id ul-Fitr, but also Muslims who've reverted to the faith.

So this is people who've converted or changed religion, and in Islam that's referred to as reverting.

And Sarah is an example of one, and let's see how she explains her first Id celebration then.

Sarah says, "I was excited but also a little nervous about my first Id ul-Fitr after reverting to Islam.

After taking part in my first Ramadan, I felt I wanted to celebrate with the community but also my own family.

One of the sisters, other Muslim women, invited me to her family home for an Id meal; it was amazing to be with other Muslims. After that, I went to see my parents who wanted to celebrate with me and wish me Id Mubarak." Sort of celebrated with her Muslim friends and Muslim sisters who are with her in the religion, but also she's taken the time to see her family who've wanted to get involved by wishing her Id Mubarak.

Why might she have been nervous for her first Id ul-Fitr then? At the beginning she said she was excited, but also nervous.

Why do you think she was nervous? Pause the video and have a think, and you could talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, let's think about a case study of a community event that we've spoken about how families might celebrate Id together, but also whole communities can come together, and Eid in the Square is one example.

Remember it's got that slightly different spelling for Id.

So it's a case study.

Eid in the Square started in 2006 in Trafalgar Square in London, so it's been going for nearly 20 years.

It happens each year on the first Saturday after Id ul-Fitr.

So Id ul-Fitr moves each year as the month of Ramadan does too through the Gregorian calendar 'cause the Islamic calendar is 11 days shorter.

So the date of Eid in the Square happens just after the date for Id ul-Fitr each year.

It's run by the mayor of London and also Muslim organisations.

They come together to put this event on together each year, and over 25,000 people attend each year to Eid in the Square.

How might Eid in the Square particularly support British Muslims then? Pause the video and I have a think, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Let's do a quick check.

In the UK today, celebrating Id is a national bank holiday.

Is that true or false? Pause the video and have a go, and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done.

That is false, isn't it? Because it's not a bank holiday, but many Muslims would choose to take the time off to celebrate with friends or family.

Well done.

So along with celebrating together and going to do Id prayer together, many Muslims will also pay a charitable donation for Id ul-Fitr.

And this is to enable other families to be able to celebrate too.

And this comes from the source of authority, the Hadith, that we spoke about earlier, which is narrations about what the Prophet Muhammad said and did.

And in the Hadith, it says, "The Messenger of Allah enjoined Zakat ul-Fitr on those who fast for the purpose of providing food for the needy." Who is instructed to pay Zakat ul-Fitr, and who is the money for? Pause the video and reread it, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, here we've got Zakat ul-Fitr is on the one who fasts and the purpose is for the needy.

Anyone who fasts pays this and the money is for the needy.

If you remember, Id ul-Fitr comes at the end of the month of Ramadan, which is when people have been fasting.

So Muslim Aid is a charity that helps to distribute that Zakat ul-Fitr donation then.

And here's Meryem, who volunteers with them.

"I volunteer with Muslim Aid and we distribute food to the families in need for Id.

It's important that all families are able to take part in celebrations for Id ul-Fitr and so donating the Zakat ul-Fitr can help with this.

In 2025, the amount was set at five pounds per person.

Sometimes that money will buy supplies for people in the UK, but sometimes that money will support Muslims in the worldwide Ummah." Why is it important that all families can celebrate Id ul-Fitr then? Pause the video and have a think, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Let's do another check.

Which of the following best describes what Zakat ul-Fitr is? It's an amount of money paid on the Night of Power to help other families in need celebrate too.

It's an amount of money paid at the start of Ramadan to help families in need with the month.

Or it is the amount of money paid on Id ul-Fitr to help other families in need to celebrate too.

Pause the video and have a go, and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done.

It is c, isn't it? It's an amount of money paid on Id ul-Fitr to help other families in need to celebrate too.

Well done.

So time for a practise task to see what we've learned.

You're going to complete the table showing two different ways that Muslims may celebrate Id ul-Fitr in the UK today.

And for each one, you're going to give a point and then develop it.

And we've got some sentence starters to help you here.

So one way that Muslims may celebrate Id ul-Fitr in the UK today.

Give a point and then develop it.

And a different way that Muslims may celebrate Id ul-Fitr in the UK today.

Give a point and then develop it.

So pause the video and have a go, and we'll see what you've got in a moment.

Well done.

Some good thinking there.

So I asked you to complete the table showing two different ways that Muslims may celebrate Id ul-Fitr in the UK today.

And you might have said one way that Muslims may celebrate Id ul-Fitr in the UK today is by attending Id prayers at the mosque.

This means that Muslims come together to pray on this day.

A different way that Muslims may celebrate Id ul-Fitr in the UK today is by donating Zakat ul-Fitr.

This means that Muslims in greater need can also celebrate Id on this day.

Well done.

So let's summarise everything we've learned today then.

Id ul-Fitr.

Id ul-Fitr is celebrated at the end of the month of Ramadan and is known as the festival of breaking the fast.

Ramadan is the name of an Islamic month in the Islamic calendar, which is 11 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar.

Muslims celebrate Id ul-Fitr with Id prayers, food, and celebrations together as a family.

Muslims in the UK may choose to take time off work, children may be given new clothes and gifts, and there are community events such as Eid in the Square.

And Zakat ul-Fitr is a charitable donation paid to help other families celebrate Id ul-Fitr and is set at around five pounds per person.

So well done for your hard work today, and I hope to see you again soon.

Bye-bye.