Is it permissible to use signs that remind people of Allah the Exalted on the sides of roads, in markets, and the like?
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The questioner:
Is it permissible to use signs that remind people of Allah the Exalted on the sides of roads, in markets, and in gatherings? Please guide us on this issue, especially since I observe that it has become a phenomenon in some areas. May Allah reward you with good. Is it permissible for a person to seek nearness to Allah by doing such things, for example, by placing signs at his own expense? Please guide us. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for this phenomenon mentioned by the questioner—placing signs written with supplications, dhikr, or some verses of the Qur'an, hanging them on walls in rooms or offices, or on roads—this is an act of independent legal reasoning (ijtihad) by some people of good, and their intention is good, if Allah wills.
The presenter:
Thank you.
The Shaykh:
Some contemporary scholars issue rulings that such a thing is permissible, but what I see is that this was not the practice of the righteous predecessors (Salaf). They did not do this. The remembrance of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, is not to be on signs or on hanging decorations, but rather in the hearts and on the tongues.[Al-Ahzab 33:41], [Al-Jumu'ah 62:10]. Allah commanded His remembrance with the heart and the tongue, and placing these signs does not take the place of that. However, those who put them up say that they enliven the person and alert the heedless. From this angle, it is considered good?
But if we return to the texts, we find no evidence for placing them or writing them in this form. We find no proofs that justify it. And if we return to the biography of the righteous predecessors, who were more eager for good than we are, we do not find them doing these actions. What I see is leaving this action and encouraging people to remember Allah with their hearts and tongues.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
Is it permissible to use signs that remind people of Allah the Exalted on the sides of roads, in markets, and in gatherings? Please guide us on this issue, especially since I observe that it has become a phenomenon in some areas. May Allah reward you with good. Is it permissible for a person to seek nearness to Allah by doing such things, for example, by placing signs at his own expense? Please guide us. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for this phenomenon mentioned by the questioner—placing signs written with supplications, dhikr, or some verses of the Qur'an, hanging them on walls in rooms or offices, or on roads—this is an act of independent legal reasoning (ijtihad) by some people of good, and their intention is good, if Allah wills.
The presenter:
Thank you.
The Shaykh:
Some contemporary scholars issue rulings that such a thing is permissible, but what I see is that this was not the practice of the righteous predecessors (Salaf). They did not do this. The remembrance of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, is not to be on signs or on hanging decorations, but rather in the hearts and on the tongues.
remember Allah with much remembrance
اذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ ذِكْرًا كَثِيرًاAnd when the prayer has been concluded, disperse within the land and seek from the bounty of Allah, and remember Allah often that you may succeed.
فَإِذَا قُضِيَتِ الصَّلَاةُ فَانتَشِرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَابْتَغُوا مِن فَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَBut if we return to the texts, we find no evidence for placing them or writing them in this form. We find no proofs that justify it. And if we return to the biography of the righteous predecessors, who were more eager for good than we are, we do not find them doing these actions. What I see is leaving this action and encouraging people to remember Allah with their hearts and tongues.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، هل يجوزاستعمال لوحات تذكر الإنسان بالله تعالى على جانبي الطريق وفي الأسواق ونحوها؟الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.