Assalamu alaykum. Today, there are pictures of Islamic buildings with inscriptions from the Quran etc. on plastic bags, copybook covers, posters, photos etc. Can we use them? Should we keep them instead of throwing them away? And if a person sees such plastic bags etc. with such pictures on the ground, should that person take them from that place in order to keep them? And what about a wall or any solid thing with contains Islamic inscriptions (from the Quran, a hadith etc.)? (I mean, should we keep that also?) Thank you in advance.

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. 

It is not permissible to write anything from the Quran on something that might be treated with disrespect. The scholars disliked writing the Quran in places where it is likely to be disrespected, such as on walls and curtains, and they forbade writing it in places where it is actually disrespected, such as carpets and mats on which people walk. The reason for their dislike of the first type is because the disrespect is probable if the wall or part of it collapsed or if the curtains are used in cleaning and the like. The reason for their forbidding of the second type is the certain occurrence of disrespect for the Quran.

Al-Fataawa al-Hindiyyah reads, "If the Quran is written on walls and fences, some scholars said: we hope that this is allowed. But some of them disliked this for fear that it would fall under the people's feet."

Al-Buhooti said in Kash-shaaf al-Qinaa', "It is disliked to write the Quran on curtains or on something where it is likely that it would be treated with disrespect."

If someone sees part of the Quran written on something that is disrespected, such as something thrown on the ground, then he must take it and protect it or get rid of it by burning it, by scraping the written verses until they disappear, or by burying it in a clean place.

The evidence about burning the Quran is what is proven in Saheeh Al-Bukhaari, that ‘Uthmaan, may Allah be pleased with him, after the writing of the Mus-haf (physical copy of the Quran) took place, ordered that all other versions of it be burned.

Ibn Battaal said, "This hadeeth proves that it is permissible to burn books in which the name of Allah is written and that doing so constitutes honoring it and protecting it from being stepped on."

The fatwa of the Standing Committee reads, "The torn pages of the Quran or of books and pages on which the verses of the Quran are written should be buried in a clean place, away from people's way and from the places of rubbish, or they should be burned as a way of protecting it and preserving it from disrespect, as ‘Uthmaan, may Allah be pleased with him, did."

If it is difficult to do so with the Quran (for any reason), then it is pardoned, as Allah says (what means): {Allah does not intend to make difficulty for you.} [Quran 5:6]

Allah also says (what means): {…and He has not placed upon you in the religion any difficulty.} [Quran 22:78]

For more benefit, please refer to fatwas 89853, 37422, and 237064.

Allah knows best.