Lesson video

Hello there, my young scholars of religion.

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

Today, we're going be doing all about the Night of Power or Laylat al Qadr, which is a very special night within the month of Ramadan.

And then how the month of Ramadan is celebrated through the festival of Id ul-Fitr at the end of the month of fasting.

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

So by the end of this lesson today, you'll be able to explain what the Night of Power and Id ul-Fitr are and how they're celebrated by Muslims today.

So let's start with our key terms. Night of Power also known as Laylat al Qadr, the night that the first of the Qur'an came to the Prophet Muhammad in the cave of Hira.

Ramadan, the month in which the Qur'an was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.

The month when Muslims take part in an obligatory fast, and Zakat ul-Fitr a donation made to charity 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 Night of Power, Id ul-Fitr, and Id ul-Fitr in the UK today.

So let's start with our first section then, the Night of Power.

What is the best day of the year for you? If you had to pick one day out of the whole year, what would the best day be? Pause the video and have a think and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Did you say your birthday? Maybe a festival day with gifts like Christmas.

Maybe the first day of the holidays.

Are some of these your best day of the year? Well, for Muslims, the Night of Power is seen as a very important day, and the Qur'an even says that this day is better than a thousand months.

So maybe that's the best day of the year for Muslims. The Night of Power falls during the last 10 nights of the month of Ramadan.

The exact night is not known, but it falls during those last 10 days.

The first revelations of the Qur'an were revealed to Prophet Muhammad and what is now celebrated as the Night of Power or Laylat al Qadr.

The Prophet Muhammad was reflecting in the cave of Hira during the month of Ramadan, as he didn't wanna take part in the idolatry and polytheism that others were doing at the Ka'aba.

Gabriel, the angel appeared to him and told him, "Recite." Sometimes it's translated as read.

And after protesting twice that he could not read, the Prophet Muhammad recited what is now known as Surah 96, the clot.

This marked the beginning of the revelations of the Qur'an, which continued for 23 years.

This is celebrated by many Muslims during the last 10 days of Ramadan in remembrance of that event.

Muslims may attend the mosque to worship, pray, and read the Qur'an.

Some Muslims believe that prayers and worship offered on this night are more special than other months.

As it says in the Qur'an in Surah 96 ayah 3, "The Night of Decree or Power is better than a thousand months." So Muslims may celebrate the Night of Power by attending the mosque each night, reading sections of the Qur'an, praying extra prayers, donating extra money to charity.

So these are all deeds that Muslims can do all year round, but on the Night of Power, they might be seen to have that special significance and be worth even more rewards.

Let's do a quick check.

The Night of Power is the first night of Ramadan.

Is that true or false? Pause the video and have a go.

We'll see what you've got in a moment.

Well done.

That's false, isn't it? But why? It's false because the exact night of the Night of Power is not known, but it's believed to be on one of the last 10 nights of the month of Ramadan, not the first.

Well done.

So a very important source of authority is the Qur'an within Islam.

And that first revelation that was given to the Prophet Muhammad on the Night of Power is known as the clot or Surah 96.

So let's read it together.

It says, "Read in the name of your Lord who created.

Created man from a clot.

Read, and your Lord is the most generous.

He who taught by the pen taught man what he never knew." And remember the word read comes from the Arabic because this was all revealed in Arabic.

And the Arabic word is iqra, which is connected to the word Qur'an, isn't it? And it could be translated as read or recite.

So why is this passage important though in the Qur'an? I said it's particularly important.

Why is that? And what word in here is linked to reciting the Qur'an and even the word Qur'an? And what does this tell Muslims about God? Pause the video and have a reread and you could talk to the person next to you or talk to me and think about these three questions on this very important passage in the Qur'an.

Well, here we've got the fact that this was the first revelation to the Prophet Muhammad, the clot, Surah 96.

And we have this word read, which could also be translated as recite, and it tells Muslims about God creating humans.

So that sense of the creation that God has done with omnipotence and power.

Remember, this is called the Night of Power.

As well as God being generous.

There's something more about the nature of God is being revealed through this, isn't it? The word read in Arabic is iqra, which can be related to the word Qur'an.

This was the first revelation of the Qur'an to the Prophet Muhammad in the cave of Hira.

And it also reminds Muslims about the nature of Allah as generous and a creator.

So even connecting to those ideas of God being omnipotent and beneficent.

And then we also have in Surah 97, this phrase about the Night of Power.

"The Night of Decree or Power is better than a thousand months." And this really links to why Muslims may be celebrating so much on the Night of Power.

What does this passage tell Muslims about the Night of Power though? Pause the video and have a reread and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, here we have it being better than a thousand months.

So it's seen as so much better.

It's better than a thousand months maybe the rewards that people can gain from their deeds will be so much better too.

So Tareeq is an imam at a mosque.

And for him, many people come to celebrate the Night of Power there.

So Laura's asking him, "How do you celebrate the Night of Power at your mosque, Tareeq?" And Tareeq says, "The last 10 nights of Ramadan are very special at the mosque as not only have Muslims been fasting for the first 20 days, but we also believe there are greater rewards from doing good actions on the Night of Power." Many members of the community make an extra effort to come and pray, worship and read the Qur'an at the mosque on those final nights.

And it makes the buildup to Id ul-Fitr even more special for us together.

Why are people attending the mosque during the last 10 nights of Ramadan for the Night of Power? Can you remember why? Pause the video and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, remember the exact night of the Night of Power is not known.

So Muslims celebrate it during those last 10 nights of Ramadan.

Let's do a quick check.

Here's an image of Muslim celebrating the Night of Power.

And you are going to say one way that Muslims might celebrate the Night of Power.

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

We've got here attending the mosque each of the evenings of those last 10 nights of Ramadan.

Well done.

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

We're going to use this quote as a prompt and explain why Muslims complete extra prayers, worship and readings of the Qur'an on the Night of Power.

And the quote is, "The Night of Decree, Power is better than a thousand months," which we spoke about earlier in the lesson.

Why might this inspire Muslims to do extra prayers, worship and reading on the Night of Power? Pause the video and have a go.

You got to write an explanation and I'll see what you've done in a moment.

I asked you using the quote as a prompt to explain why Muslims may complete extra prayers, worship and readings of the Qur'an on the Night of Power.

The quote being, "The Night of Decree, Power is better than a thousand months." And you may have said, "The Night of Power was when the Prophet Muhammad received the first revelations of the Qur'an in the cave of Hira.

The Qur'an states that this night is better than a thousand months.

And so many Muslims believe there are greater rewards from completing good actions like reading the Qur'an, praying, worshipping , and donating money on this night.

As the exact night is not known, some Muslims will do these actions on all 10 of the final nights of the month of Ramadan." Well done.

So onto 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, breakfast 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 sometimes called the greater Id.

It's lasts for a day longer than the celebrations for the 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 prayers.

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 could 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 spell 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 Muslims 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.

What 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 the Id ul-Fitr then.

And the Hadith is narration and stories about what the prophet Muhammad 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, Id ul-Adha.

"On the first of them, you break your fast and celebrate your festival and on 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 could 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 this Muslims may argue that Id ul-Fitr is the most important festival for Muslims. And Meryem and 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 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? What 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 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've 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 onto 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 Ids.

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 the Id ul-Fitr then than other days? Pause a 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 evil 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'".

So Sarah 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 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 you to 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 called 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 to 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 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 the friends and family.

Well done.

So along with celebrating together and going to do Id prayers 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 that Hadith that we spoke about earlier, which is narration about what the prophet Hammed said and did.

And in the Hadith it says, "The messenger 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 fast 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 isn't an 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 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 development, 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 development.

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

Give a point and then development.

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.

The Night of Power and Id ul-Fitr.

The Night of Power is when the first revelations of the Qur'an were received by the Prophet Muhammad in the cave of Hira.

This happened during the month of Ramadan during the final 10 nights.

Muslims celebrate this through extra prayers, worship, Qur'an readings and donations to charity.

Id ul-Fitr is the celebration of breaking the fast at the end of Ramadan.

Id ul-Fitr is celebrated by Muslims in the UK in various ways, including through paying Zakat ul-Fitr.

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

Bye-bye.