Clothes
and Hats

Why do humans wear clothes and hats?

Well, that usually depends on where they live,

and whether they are indoors or out.

It can be to keep them warm or keep them dry,

or keep the sun from burning their skin,

or keep the rain from running down their necks.

Clothes can be of different fabrics, and loose fitting or tight.

Loose clothes let the air move around their bodies, keeping them cool,

but a thermal vest is worn close to the skin

to keep the cold air away.

Loose may be comfortable for sitting around or gently walking,

but are not so good for sports where they may trip you up when you are running,

and can catch on things like bicycle gear wheels.

Clothes are worn to suit what people are doing and where they are,

whether they are indoors in the warm and dry or outdoors in the cold and wet.

But whatever they are doing, they wear clothes for protection.

People who need to be seen,

like the lollipop person that stops the traffic for children going to school

who will wear a bright yellow coat that reflects the light so they can easily be seen by car drivers,

and people riding bikes on the road will often do the same.

When outdoors, the Messenger mostly wore a loose robe, from his shoulders to his ankles,

but that is not practical for cold wet weather,

so instead, muslim men wear clothing that suits where they are and what they are doing.

As did the Messenger

who wore metal armour when he had to fight in battles.

In the same way, people wear hats to protect their heads where they lose a lot of their heat.

It's where they have their brains that burn up lots of heat when they are thinking,

so they need to try to keep them cool, yet warm enough to keep working.

And people working on building sites will wear hard hats, like armour to protect their heads,

just as motorbike riders and cyclists need to wear crash helmets to keep themselves safe on the roads.

The Messenger wore a turban when he went out of the house, to keep off the heat of the sun,

and for that reason many muslims in hot parts of the world will do the same today.

But in a country like Scotland,

where you are more likely to be in pouring rain,

a turban would soon end up as a soggy mess on your head,

so not many muslims think it's a good idea.

Fishermen are more likely to wear a sou'wester than a turban.

But muslims in Scotland do often wear clothes to remind them of the places that their families have come from,

especially at family events

or on special occasions.

This way they remember their family roots

even though they have now put down new roots for their families

to grow in the place they now live.