Fatwa no. 21721 All praise be to Allah Alone, and peace and blessings be upon His Last Prophet. (Part No. 26; Page No. 376) To commence:The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta' has read the letter that was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufty from the questioner; His Excellency the mayor of Turaif Governorate: `Abdullah ibn Muslim Al-Sharary. The concerned letter was sent to the Committee by the secretariat-general of the Council of Senior Scholars under the number 5873 and dated 22/09/1421. Following is the text of the question:We have welcoming signs on the main roads by the entrance of the Turaif Governorate, their width is not less than twenty meters. The point is that we desire to write some Ayahs (Qur'anic verses) or religious statements on such signs. We may for example write something like: "Move and glorify Allah" as reading such words leads to the tranquility of a person's heart and their resort to every virtuous deed. In other words, Dhikr (Remembrance of Allah) limits rashness of drivers In sha’a-Allah (if Allah wills) and I consider it more beneficial than statements like: "O father! Do not speed. We are waiting for you." Moreover, I would like to write on the concerned signs a part of the Ayah (Qur'anic verse) which reads: My Lord, make this city (Makkah) a place of security and provide its people with fruits Please tell me whether this is permissible.

The Committee studied the question and answered that it is not permissible to write Ayahs or statements including Dhikr on roads' guiding signs or on signs which are located by the entrances of cities. This is because doing so exposes such religious texts to misuse and damage. This is more likely to happen with the passage of time when such signs may fall down or be dispensed of. (Part No. 26; Page No. 377) It is worth mentioning that Muslims have to protect the Ayahs of Allah and all texts containing His Dhikr against all forms of degradation. At the same time, Muslims have to stick to what Allah commands them to do i.e. worshiping Allah (Glorified be He) by doing a lot of Dhikr, reciting Qur'an, contemplating its meanings, and being admonished by it.Finally, it is permissible to write guiding sentences on the concerned signs to urge drivers and people passing through to follow manners that keep them safe such as being careful and patient; and not to hurry, be careless, annoy others, etc.May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.