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What is the Shar'i (Islamic legal) evidence for the prohibition of men using the daff (tambourine), what is the ruling on listening to national songs accompanied by music, and what is the difference between the daff and other musical instruments?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The evidence for the prohibition of using the duff (tambourine) for men is that it falls under the category of musical instruments (ma'azif) that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade when he said: "There will be among my ummah people who will consider lawful al-hir (unlawful sexual intercourse), silk, intoxicants, and musical instruments (al-ma'azif)." The default rule is the prohibition of all musical instruments, but the use of the duff was exceptionally permitted for women only, while men remained under the original ruling. This is because it was not known that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, nor his companions, played the duff. It is also not permissible to listen to any songs that include musical instruments and music.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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