Putting up posters is a familiar part of city life, but the need to publicise something does not create a right to stick posters anywhere, says a piece by Barta24's Islam desk. Posters placed without permission on other people's walls, shops, homes, mosques, institutions or public spaces raise questions of ownership, civic order and the environment.
According to the piece, using posters to promote lawful goods, services, education, social initiatives or events is permissible, provided they contain no falsehood, deception, indecency or anything contrary to Islamic law. Putting them on your own wall, or on someone else's with the owner's permission, is lawful, as is using places an institution or local authority has set aside. Using another person's wall as your advertising space without permission is not.
The piece cites verse 29 of Surah An-Nisa: 'Do not consume one another's wealth unjustly, except through trade by mutual consent.' Another person's property may not be used without consent. Glue can ruin the paint on a wall or a car, posters take effort to remove and walls sometimes need repainting, so one person's publicity becomes another person's cost. It also quotes the hadith in Ibn Majah (2340) in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'There should be neither harm nor reciprocating harm.'
Walls belonging to institutions or government bodies should not be used without the relevant authority's permission either, since public property is not anyone's to do with as they please. Layers of posters leave electricity poles, road dividers and buildings dirty and spoil a city's appearance. Bangladesh's Wall Writing and Poster Fixing (Control) Act 2012 restricts posters outside designated places. The piece also cites the hadith in Sahih Muslim (35) that removing something harmful from the road is a branch of faith, and argues that cluttering public space for one's own publicity cannot be the conduct expected of a Muslim.
It suggests three alternatives: ask the owner or authority before putting up a poster, use the advertising spots set by local administrations or city corporations, and turn to digital media, leaflets, approved billboards or other lawful advertising. Those who hire people to put up posters should tell them to use approved places only, and a poster put up by mistake without permission should be removed where possible and any damage made good.
Photo: Marcin Wichary / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0); a man pasting posters on a wall, representative picture
Source: Barta24
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