Ramadan, Eid and the Muslim year
A month of fasting followed by a day of celebration says something specific: self-discipline, awareness of hunger and gratitude belong together.
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Explain how festivals, worship and rites of passage express belief
Key learning points
- • Ramadan
- • Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha
- • The mosque and daily prayer
This lesson at a glance
- 25 minutes
- 15 parts to scroll through
- 4 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 15
Watch first
Ramadan, Eid and the Muslim year
An English teaching video on this topic from CrashCourse. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.
In a nutshell
Explain how festivals, worship and rites of passage express belief
Learning cycle
Part 2 of 15
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 · Ramadan
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 3 of 15
Learn
Ramadan
During Ramadan, adult Muslims in good health fast from dawn to sunset. The purpose is described as taqwa — awareness of God — along with empathy for those who go without, and a break from habit. Children, travellers, the ill and pregnant women are not required to fast.
Explore the idea
Part 4 of 15
Learn
Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha
Eid al-Fitr ends Ramadan with prayer, new clothes, food and giving to those in need. Eid al-Adha, during the hajj season, remembers Abraham's willingness to sacrifice and is marked by sharing meat with family, neighbours and the poor.
Quick check
Part 5 of 15
Quick check
When does the Ramadan fast run each day?
Quick check
Part 6 of 15
Quick check
Who is not required to fast?
Reset break
Part 7 of 15
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 2 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 8 of 15
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 · The mosque and daily prayer
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 9 of 15
Learn
The mosque and daily prayer
Prayer involves washing, facing Mecca and a set sequence of words and movements. A mosque provides washing facilities, a prayer hall without furniture, and a niche showing the direction of prayer. Friday midday prayer is congregational.
Quick check
Part 10 of 15
Quick check
What marks the end of Ramadan?
Quick check
Part 11 of 15
Quick check
Why is there no furniture in the prayer hall?
Explore the idea
Part 12 of 15
Worked example
Worked example: belief behind the practice
Question: what does giving at Eid al-Fitr express? Answer: it expresses zakat and empathy — the belief that wealth is held in trust and that the month's experience of hunger should change behaviour towards those who are hungry all year. The festival closes the loop between feeling and action.
Challenge round
Part 13 of 15
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Mastery quiz
Part 14 of 15
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Ramadan, Eid and the Muslim year
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. When does the Ramadan fast run each day?
2. Who is not required to fast?
3. What marks the end of Ramadan?
4. Why is there no furniture in the prayer hall?
Lesson round-up
Part 15 of 15
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
Quiz score
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Points this lesson
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Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaDo the work
Your written work for this lesson
This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.
Two teachings on forgiveness
In Christian teaching, Jesus is asked how many times a person should forgive. He answers not seven times but seventy-seven — meaning forgiveness should not be counted at all. The Lord's Prayer links the two directions together: forgive us as we forgive others.
In Islamic teaching, one of the names of God is al-Ghaffar, the Ever-Forgiving. Muslims are taught that God's mercy is greater than any wrong a person can do, and that those who pardon others are closer to God than those who take revenge.
Both traditions distinguish forgiving from forgetting. A person may forgive and still expect justice, and may seek safety from someone who has harmed them.
Original paraphrases written for Good Learning Co.
Reading questions
- What does each teaching say about how far forgiveness should go?
- Explain how a believer might use one of these teachings after being hurt by a friend.
- "Forgiving someone means letting them off." Give two views on this and say which is stronger, with reasons.
Reading and response
ReadingRead the lesson text again — especially any scripture, story or quotation — then write what it teaches and how a believer would use it.
2 paragraphs (PEE)
Extended writing
WritingAnswer the lesson's big question as an exam answer would: a clear view, a reason, a teaching or example as evidence, and a different view weighed against yours.
250–350 words
Belief in your own words
WritingExplain what this belief means and give one example of how it changes what people do.
8–10 sentences
Different views
WritingWrite two different views on this question and say which you find stronger, and why.
2 paragraphs
Symbol or belief diagram
DiagramDraw the symbol, place of worship or idea from this lesson with labels explaining what each part means, then photograph it.
1 labelled drawing
Saved as you type.
Part 1 of 15 · Watch & discover