Artist from Ras Al Khaimah paints prayer words on road signs to promote humility and responsibility

It's likely that you have come across road signs with a prayer painted on them. We meet Rehman Shah, an artist responsible for many of these well-intentioned signs, who believes they make the roads safer.

Rehman Shah, originally from Peshawar, at work in his small but bright studio in RAK's old town. Antonie Robertson

They can be seen everywhere – small signs wedged into rocks on bumpy wadi roads, or stuck in the sand beside three-lane ­motorways. Each carries a word or two of prayer in tidy Arabic calligraphy: alhamdulillah, praise God; astaghfirullah, God forgive us; mashallah, God has willed it; and Allahu Akbar, God is great.

The signs appear on the side of the road, placed anonymously to serve as a reminder of one’s humility before God and, some believe, to make people better drivers. Religious symbolism in the UAE is kept to a minimum and the signs are small and simple.

“Yanni, it makes people take time to look and to read, and to think of God and the dead,” says Rehman Shah, 37, a painter whose signs punctuate the country’s roadsides. “They turn off the music or radio and then they start to recite these words.”

Shah believes reminding people of their mortality causes drivers to be responsible. He comes across his signs at dangerous intersections, sharp corners and areas known for fatal crashes.

Many customers order signs by the dozen when advised by family.

“A lot of people come and say: ‘My mom or my father told me to do this,’” says Shah. “Maybe their friend has died from a crash and they do this for his soul. They might get five Subhan Allah [Glorious is God], five Allahu Akbar, five astaghfirullah. Many come from Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. The price between Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah is so different.”

Shah works from a cluster of art shops in RAK’s old town, where Emiratis travel from across the country to buy prayer signs at competitive prices. Like most of the artists in this quarter, he comes from the Peshawar district in northern Pakistan, an area renowned for its artists. Shah has worked as a professional painter since he was 12. He operates from a bright shop under a ceiling painted with palm fronds and blue skies. He sees his signs on roads all over the country.

When he’s not painting prayers onto plywood for Dh20 a sign, Shah paints ornate outdoor scenes in majlis reception rooms, a popular trend in new Emirati suburbs.

One of the busiest times of the year is around National Day in December, when Shah paints poetry and portraits of sheikhs on cars to commemorate the 1971 union of the UAE. The wall on his shop reads, “The Happiest Nation” and Shah is inclined to agree. Between religion and state, Shah makes a good living.

Various prayers can also be found on cars. Mashallah, a phrase used for protection from the evil eye, may be the country’s most popular car decal, and with good reason. A 2008 survey of 260 Al Ain traffic policemen at eight stations found that 17 per cent attributed crashes to the evil eye and 15 per cent to djinn or spirits.

When Faisal Shihabudheen got a new 4x4, he carefully placed a sticker with the Arabic words “Do not forget to think of God” on the front windscreen to protect his car from the evil eye.

“You know, if someone sees the car and feels jealous, they then will see this and pray and we won’t have any problems after that,” said the 20-something Shihabudheen, who lives in RAK.

A small disk decorated with script from the Quran dangles from his rear-view mirror. “It’s just to say drive safe,” says his friend, Sam Suseelam, an Indian national raised in RAK.

But not everyone subscribes to Shah’s belief that such signs change driver behaviour. “It does not change our driving style. We just deeply believe in it,” says Suseelam, who identifies himself as a mix of Hindu and Christian.

The purpose is spiritual, according to Salem Akram, a graphics designer at Art Design. Roads are a good place for signs because they reach a wider audience.

“It’s to put in their mind they should always remember Allah,” says Akram, 23, a Palestinian.

Art Design makes these signs in wood, aluminium and plastic for free on request, for government or individuals. After all, says Akram, “it’s for God”.

The best places are the most congested, where people’s thoughts are most likely to turn more frustrated or annoyed, he says.

“In waiting areas, because people hate waiting and maybe this will fill the time, to remember God and what God does,” says Akram. “Like parking areas, public areas that gather people, places with traffic.”

Who, after all, has not said a little prayer in traffic?

Anna Zacharias is freelance journalist based in RAK.