Buildings

Some places are hot and some are cold,

some are wet and some are dry,

some are windy and some are not,

some are on the sides of mountains, some are on the banks of rivers,

some are in jungle and some in deserts.

So people shape their houses to suit the local weather

and use whatever materials are around them with which they can build.

Like the three little pigs, people use straw and sticks and bricks,

while in Aberdeen they like to use granite.

But what is good for Scotland isn't always the best thing for everywhere else.

Half way around the world in Indonesia there are muslims who live in thick jungle,

where buildings can be made of wood.

Come closer to Scotland and Bangladesh is very wet

with heavy rains each year that can bring floods,

so people living near rivers will build their homes on stilts

to keep them up above the water.

And closer still, in Kashmir which has big lakes, people like to live in boats for houses.

Muslims also live in hot dry deserts, where they sometimes live in tents,

which are easy to carry around with them when they travel to follow the weather,

or some will make their houses out of mud, because there is hardly any rain to wash them away.

And muslims also live in places with deep snow,

where they like to live in something that is warmer than a tent.

But nowadays most muslims live in towns and cities, much like Scotland,

with brick and stone houses and tower blocks of concrete.

Of course, not everyone lives in a small house,

and some people are rich enough to build themselves palaces.

But the Messenger lived a very simple life,

with each of his wives having a small room next to the mosque,

with walls made of palm fibre and mud and roofs made of the leaves of palm trees.

He was the Messenger of God and the leader of all the Arab tribes,

but what money he had he gave away to the poor and needy,

rather than build himself a palace.