What is the ruling on placing reminder signs on the roads, such as: “Remember Allah,” “Send blessings upon the Prophet,” and the like?

The questioner : Our Shaykh, we know your opinion regarding placing the Qur’an on walls, or verses, or hadiths. I see many people now placing signs in the street to remind people, .

The Shaykh : Remember Allah, there is no god but Allah.
The student : Send blessings upon the Prophet.

The Shaykh : This is a Najdi way.

The questioner : They are doing it here now; I noticed this observation while I was coming.

The Shaykh : That is why I am telling you: it is in the Najdi way, because this was not here before. This is new here. Of course, this is like placing a verse: ... The subject is about lawful earnings, so we now decorate our houses with such a verse and our walls, but our hearts are empty of it. This verse must, of course, be printed in the heart so that it carries its owner to the mindfulness of Allah. We have dispensed with this and replaced it, as He said - the Exalted - : , so the good is what we brought into our hearts, and the lesser thing is what we paid attention to and placed on the walls of our houses. Therefore, these writings are, in reality, from the inspiration of Satan, even if the ignorant person approves of them, as many have approved, including some of the specialists, of many innovations that they call by a name other than that they are a good innovation. Satan, as Allah described him in the Qur’an, is a clear enemy to man, so he diverts Muslims from good by making them think it is good, and what we are in is of this kind. I recall, on an occasion like this, an example we saw often in Syria, and I think here too there is a likeness or its equivalent. People would be sitting in the cafes, and they might be immersed in some sins, such as playing shiddeh or gambling, and next to them is a mosque. The mu’adhdhin calls, and they leave everything and stand in reverence when the mu’adhdhin says: Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. This is reverence for Allah, but none of them moves to the mosque. So the mu’adhdhin says: Hayya ‘ala al-salah, Hayya ‘ala al-falah, meaning: leave your works and go to your mosque to worship your Lord. Satan inspired them: we are satisfied with this reverence from you, stand up and sit down. And this is the case with all innovations, and therefore some of the Salaf said: “No innovation is introduced except that a Sunnah is killed.” This report is, in fact, one that we, whom Allah - Mighty and Majestic - has blessed with following the Sunnah and following its good reports, and ceasing from innovation and following its bad reports, we feel this report with the touch of the hand in the reality of people’s lives. What is the effect? “No innovation is introduced except that a Sunnah is killed.” One of them enters the mosque and finds his companion performing wudu’, he says to him: Zamzam, he says to him: Haram, and the salam alaykum, which is the obligatory greeting upon meeting, is gone, , you met him and did not greet him, why? The innovation took the place of the Sunnah, and even the place of the obligatory. Similarly, for example, they meet after the prayer and did not meet before the prayer: May Allah accept, May Allah accept, and the salam alaykum is gone. This is an example from hundreds of examples of how innovation kills the Sunnah. Satan made their deeds attractive to them, so He led them astray from the right path.
The student : May Allah reward you with good, our Shaykh.