Dawud recorded it and said: It is (66) an odd (munkar) hadith. We say: Al-Khallal recorded it with his chain of narration through two paths, so perhaps Abu Dawud weakened it because he only encountered one of the two paths.
A permitted type [of musical instrument] is the daff (hand drum), for the Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him) said: "Publicize the marriage and beat the daff for it." Recorded by Muslim (67). Our companions and the companions of al-Shafi'i mentioned that it is disliked (makruh) in contexts other than marriage, because it is narrated from Umar that whenever he heard the sound of a daff, he would send someone to check; if it was at a wedding feast, he remained silent, but if it was otherwise, he would strike with his whip (68).
Our evidence is what was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him), that a woman came to him and said: "I have vowed, if you return safely from your journey, to beat the daff over your head (69)." The Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him) said: "Fulfill your vow." Recorded by Abu Dawud (70). If it were disliked, he would not have commanded her to do it even though it was vowed.
Al-Rubayyi' bint Mu'awwidh narrated, saying: The Messenger of God (peace and blessings of God be upon him) entered upon me on the morning of my wedding, and young girls began beating their daff and mourning those of my fathers who were killed on the day of Badr, until one of them said: "And among us is a Prophet who knows what is in the future." He said: "Leave this, and say what you were saying." Muttafaq 'alayh (agreed upon) (71).
As for beating it for men, it is disliked in all cases, because it was only beaten by women and the mukhannathun (effeminate men) (72) who resemble them. Thus, in men beating it, there is an imitation of women, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him) cursed the men who imitate women (73). As for beating
(66) In B: "this". (67) Its recording was previously mentioned in: 9/468. (68) Recorded by Abd al-Razzaq, in: The Chapter on Singing and the Daff, from the book Al-Jami'. Al-Musannaf 11/5. (69) Omitted from: A, B. (70) Its recording was previously mentioned in: page 5. (71) Recorded by al-Bukhari, in: The Chapter "Khalifa narrated to us, Muhammad narrated to us", from the Book of Military Expeditions (al-Maghazi), and in: The Chapter on Beating the Daff in Marriage and the Wedding Feast, from the Book of Marriage. Sahih al-Bukhari 5/105, 7/25. It was also recorded by Abu Dawud, in: The Chapter on the Prohibition of Singing, from the Book of Manners. Sunan Abi Dawud 2/578. And al-Tirmidhi, in: The Chapter on what has been said regarding the publicizing of marriage, from the Chapters on Marriage. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 4/309. And Ibn Majah, in: The Chapter on Singing and the Daff, from the Book of Marriage. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/611. And Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 6/359, 360. It is not in Sahih Muslim, see: Tuhfat al-Ashraf 11/301, 302. (72) In the original: "or the mukhannathun". (73) Recorded by al-Bukhari, in: The Chapter on men who imitate women and women who imitate men, from the Book of Clothing. Sahih al-Bukhari
