It began in the dark of night. Angel Jibril عليه السلام woke our beloved Prophet ﷺ and outside, waiting for him, was a creature from Jannah: the Buraq. Long and white, smaller than a mule but bigger than a donkey, moving faster than a flash of lightning with each step it leapt as far as the eye could see. The Buraq carried him all the way from al-Masjid al-Haram in Makkah to the blessed city of Jerusalem, in Palestine. There, at al-Masjid al-Aqsa, Allah gathered all the previous Prophets. And Muhammad ﷺ led them in salah. That journey is called al-Isra’.

Then Angel Jibril عليه السلام took him further up through the seven heavens. In each one, he met Prophets: Adam, Yahya, ʿIsa, Yusuf, Idris, Harun, Musa, and Ibrahim عليهم السلام. He saw Jannah. He saw Jahannam. And then, at the highest place beyond all seven heavens, our beloved Prophet ﷺ spoke directly to Allah, The Almighty. There, Allah gave him a precious gift for every Muslim who would ever live: the five daily salah. That journey is called al-Miʿraj.

By the next morning, he was back in Makkah. The whole thing happened in a part of one night.

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People from a city called Madinah had come to Makkah, heard the message of Islam, and accepted it. They told our beloved Prophet ﷺ: the Muslims would be safe with them. They promised to protect them. So Muhammad ﷺ told the Muslims to go. He stayed behind a little longer, making sure everyone got out safely. Then Allah, The All-Aware, sent Angel Jibril عليه السلام to warn him: the enemies were planning to kill him. It was time to leave.

He told his closest friend, Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه. “Allah has given me permission to leave for Madinah.” Abu Bakr asked if he could come. “Yes,” said our beloved Prophet ﷺ.

That night, the two of them quietly slipped away. They stopped to rest in the cave of Thawr. The enemies followed their footprints through the sand and came right to the entrance of the cave. Abu Bakr felt the fear close in. Our beloved Prophet ﷺ said: “Don’t worry. Allah is with us.” The enemies turned back without looking inside. After three days in the cave with Abu Bakr’s children and his servant secretly bringing them food and news they set off for Madinah again.

The lesson pauses here with a question every child can sit with: what do you do to feel better when you’re worried?

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When the disbelievers of Makkah begin hurting the Muslims and making it hard for them to worship Allah, our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is deeply upset. He wants them to be safe. He tells them: “Go to Abyssinia. A fair king rules there. No one is treated unfairly. Stay there until Allah makes things easier for you.” A small group slips away quietly and sails across the sea. A larger group follows. In Abyssinia, the king welcomes them warmly. He lets them worship Allah freely. When the disbelievers of Makkah come asking him to send the Muslims back, he refuses. He had heard the words of the Qur’an, and he turned their enemies away. The Muslims were thankful. They trusted Allah, and they knew He would always look after them.

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Angel Jibril brings more verses of the Qur’an to the Prophet ﷺ, who shares the message with those closest to him. Khadijah رضي الله عنها believes him at once. She knew he always spoke the truth. She becomes the first Muslim woman. ʿAli رضي الله عنه, the Prophet’s cousin, saw them praying one day and asks what they were doing. The Prophet ﷺ explains, and ten-year-old ʿAli رضي الله عنه replies: “I want to join you!” He becomes the first Muslim child. Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه, the Prophet’s closest friend, hears the message and believes straight away. He becomes the first Muslim man. Then Allah commands the Prophet ﷺ to take the message further. He climbs Mount Safa and calls out to the people of Makkah: “Worship Allah alone!” Not everyone listens. Abu Lahab, the Prophet’s uncle, throws sand and turns away in anger.

The three activities stay close to the lesson’s heart. The first is a shahadah certificate: learners write their own name, trace the Arabic words of the shahadah, and a teacher signs at the bottom beneath the pledge “I will always follow the truth!” The second gives learners three award badges first Muslim man, first Muslim child, first Muslim woman and asks them to write the correct name in each. The third is a role-play: learners imagine telling their family “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad ﷺ is His Messenger,” then answer the questions their family asks back Who is Allah? Who is Muhammad ﷺ? What do you do to show you are a Muslim?

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Muhammad ﷺ used to climb Mount Nur and sit alone in the cave of Hira, thinking about Allah. He did this often. One day in Ramadan, when he was forty years old, something happened that he had never experienced before. Angel Jibril عليه السلام appeared before him. Muhammad ﷺ had never seen anyone like him. He felt afraid. Jibril عليه السلام commanded: “Read!” Muhammad ﷺ answered: “I don’t know how to read.” Jibril عليه السلام held him tightly, then let go, and commanded again. This happened three times. Then Jibril عليه السلام taught him the first words of the Qur’an and left.

Muhammad ﷺ ran home, terrified. “Cover me! Cover me!” he called out to Khadijah. She covered him, held him, and said what he needed to hear: “Allah will never let you down. You always help people.” Then she took him to her wise old cousin, Waraqah, who listened carefully and told him: that was the same angel Allah had sent to Prophet Musa عليه السلام. Muhammad ﷺ had become a Prophet of Allah.

The lesson pauses here with something worth saying to young learners: it is okay to feel scared. Allah takes care of those who do good.

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Years had passed since Prophet ʿIsa عليه السلام. The people of Makkah had drifted far from the teachings of Prophet Ibrahim عليه السلام. Allah, the Most Kind, did not leave them without guidance. He sent Muhammad ﷺ. One Monday morning, baby Muhammad ﷺ was born to his mother Aminah, who held him close with love. His father, ʿAbdullah, had passed away before he arrived.

Following the custom of Makkah, baby Muhammad ﷺ was sent to the desert to grow up strong and healthy. Allah chose a gentle woman, Halimah as-Saʿdiyyah, and her family to care for him. From the day she took him home, blessings followed her goats gave more milk than before and her home felt different.

When Muhammad ﷺ was six, he travelled with his mother Aminah to visit family in Madinah. On the way back, Aminah became ill and passed away. Her kind maid, Barakah, brought him safely home to Makkah. He then lived with his grandfather, ʿAbdul-Muttalib, who loved him deeply. When Muhammad ﷺ was eight, his grandfather too passed away. His uncle, Abu Talib, and his wife took him in and raised him with great love.

He lost so much, so young. And yet Allah took care of him at every moment.

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Allah gave ʿIsa عليه السلام the Injil to guide his people. He was nothing like the rich and powerful around him. He sat with the weak, ate with the poor, helped the needy, and treated everyone the same. His message never changed: “Allah is my Lord and your Lord. Worship Him alone. This is the straight path.” And by Allah’s permission, he backed those words with miracles bringing the dead back to life, healing people with leprosy, making blind people see again, shaping clay into birds and breathing life into them, and telling people what they had eaten and stored at home. Signs that should have been impossible to ignore.

Many people still didn’t listen.

When the disbelievers came to kill him, Allah, The All-Aware, replaced him with someone who looked just like him. They thought they had succeeded. They had not. Allah raised ʿIsa عليه السلام to the heavens. He is there now and one day, he will return to help the Muslims. He is a Prophet and servant of Allah. Not God. Not the son of God. A Prophet.

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Zakariyya عليه السلام also looked after Maryam عليها السلام, a young girl from his relatives, whose mother had promised Allah she would live in the Masjid to worship Him. One day, he found fresh fruit with her, fruit that didn’t grow in that season. He asked where it came from. She replied: “They’re from Allah.” Something shifted in him. If Allah gives fruit out of season, He can also give me a child in my old age. His hair was white. His wife was old. But he made duʿa anyway: “O my Lord, bless me with a righteous child from You. You hear all duʿas.” While he was still praying, angels called out: “Allah gives you good news of Yahya!” Yahya عليه السلام grew up kind, wise, and deeply respectful of his parents. Together, father and son raced each other to do good deeds. The lesson ends with a line worth sitting with: good things take time, keep asking Allah and never lose hope.

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The sailors decide someone must jump into the sea to save the rest. They pick names. Yunus عليه السلام comes up again, and again, and again. They refuse to throw him, they know he is a blessed man. But Yunus عليه السلام sees this as a sign from Allah, and he jumps. A whale swallows him. The dark night. The dark sea. The darkness of the whale’s belly. No way out.

In that total darkness, Yunus عليه السلام turns to Allah and prays: “There is no god but You; how Perfect are You! I was indeed wrong!” Allah, The Most Kind, accepts his duʿa. He orders the whale to spit him out onto the shore. When Yunus عليه السلام recovers, Allah sends him back to guide his people. They believe. Allah gives them peaceful, happy lives.

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Yunus عليه السلام calls his people to worship Allah alone. He reminds them that Allah is the Creator of the heavens and the earth and everything within them. They laugh. Some call him a magician. They don’t listen. They don’t care. He tries and tries, until one day he gives up and leaves the city but not before warning them of Allah’s punishment.

Then the sky turns dark. The people tremble. They remember what Yunus عليه السلام said, and this time they believe it. They rush outside, raise their hands, and beg Allah to forgive them. They promise to worship Allah alone and do good. Allah, The Most Kind, forgives them and clears the sky. Then they ask for their Prophet to come back.

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