The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "What distinguishes the lawful from the unlawful is the beating of the duff and raising the voice in marriage celebration."
قال رسول الله ﷺ: فصل بين الحلال والحرام: الدف والصوت في النكاح.
Tirmidhi (1088), Nasai (3369), and Ibn Majah (1896) narrated it, and Hakim (2/184) and Bayhaqi (289/7) graded it sahih, all of them from the hadith of Abu Balaj, from Muhammad bin Hatib, who said, and he mentioned it.Tirmidhi said, "The hadith of Muhammad bin Hatib is a hasan hadith. Abu Balaj's name is Yahya bin Abu Salim, and it is also said Ibn Salim. Muhammad bin Hatib saw the Prophet ﷺ when he was a young boy."Hakim said, "Its chain is sahih."Its chain is hasan because of Abu Balaj, for there is disagreement about him, though his hadith is hasan.On this subject there is also what was narrated from Abdullah bin Zubayr, that the Prophet ﷺ said, "Announce the marriage."Ahmad (16130), Bazzar in Kashf Astar (1433), Tabarani in Awsat (5141), Ibn Hibban in his Sahih (4066), and Hakim (183/2), and from him Bayhaqi (288/7), all narrated it from the hadith of Abdullah bin Wahb, who said, Abdullah bin Aswad Qurashi narrated to me, from Amir bin Abdullah bin Zubayr, from his father, and he mentioned it.Hakim said, "This is a sahih hadith."I say, it contains Abdullah bin Aswad Qurashi, who is unknown, one of the narrators mentioned in Tajil, whom no one has authenticated. Abu Hatim said, "A shaykh, no one narrated from him except Ibn Wahb." Likewise, Ibn Hibban did not mention, among the narrators from him in his Thiqat (15/7), anyone other than Ibn Wahb. Bayhaqi said, "Abdullah bin Aswad narrated it alone from Amir," and this is a criticism from him.As for the meaning of the hadith, Ibn Hibban said its meaning is, announce it with two just witnesses. This meaning has come from many of the early generations. The other meaning that comes to mind is showing joy and happiness without there being any violation of the sharia in it, such as pitching a tent for guests, lighting up the house, beating tambourines, and raising the voice saying, "We have come to you, we have come to you." As for sound meaning listening to arousing songs containing descriptions of beauty and immorality, no one has held this view. Therefore Bayhaqi said (7/290), "Some people take it to mean listening to singing. This is a mistake. Its meaning, according to us, is only the announcement of the marriage, raising the voice with it, and mentioning it among the people."As for what was narrated from Ayesha, who said, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Announce this marriage, hold it in the mosques, and beat tambourines for it," this is daif. Tirmidhi narrated it (1089) from Ahmad bin Mani, who said, Yazid bin Harun narrated to us, Isa bin Maymun Ansari informed us, from Qasim bin Muhammad, from Ayesha, and he mentioned it.Tirmidhi said, "This is a gharib hasan hadith on this subject. Isa bin Maymun Ansari is weakened in hadith. Isa bin Maymun, who narrates the tafsir from Ibn Abu Najeeh, is trustworthy."I say, Bukhari said of Isa bin Maymun Wasiti Ansari, "His hadith is munkar." Bayhaqi (290/7) also narrated it through his route and graded it daif.Ibn Majah (1895) narrated it through another route, from Khalid bin Ilyas, from Rabia bin Abu Abdul-Rahman, from Qasim, from Ayesha, with the wording, "Announce this marriage, and beat the tambourine for it." Khalid bin Ilyas Adawi Madani, the imam of Masjid Nabawi, is daif by consensus of the scholars.There are other hadiths with a similar meaning that Bayhaqi mentioned and graded daif.