The first is that Ayyub had been in Ibn Sirin’s company far earlier and transmits from all his teachers with greater reliability; the same cannot be claimed for Hisham—despite his merit, learning and trustworthiness—as anyone who consults their biographies will note, especially in Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, vol. 6. There al-Dhahabi writes of Ayyub (6/20): “With him the chain of precision comes to an end.”

The second reason is that the report accords better with the standing of ʿAbd Allah ibn Jaʿfar—may Allah be pleased with him—for the daff (frame drum) carries a ruling distinct from every other musical instrument: women are allowed to beat it at weddings, as has already been noted and will be mentioned again. Because of this, the jurists separated the daff from other instruments when the question was whether it should be destroyed. Al-Khallal narrates (p. 28) from Jaʿfar—meaning Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad—who said:
“I asked ʿAbd Allah about smashing the ṭanbūr (pandore), the ʿūd (lute) and the ṭabl (kettle-drum), and he saw no objection.” A similar report from Ahmad and Shurayḥ has been cited a little earlier.

Jaʿfar continued: “He was asked, ‘And the frame drums?’ He held that the daff should not be touched and said: ‘A report from the Prophet ﷺ concerns weddings.’” He was referring to the ḥadith, “The distinguishing mark between what is lawful and what is unlawful is the beating of the frame drum…,” which I quoted in the Introduction (pp. 10–11) together with Shaykh Abū Zahrah’s errors about it. It is as though Imam Ahmad is hinting that the ḥadith implies refraining from destroying the daff, for its use has been permitted at marriage celebrations—such is the subtlety of his jurisprudence and understanding, may Allah have mercy on him. The ruling differs, however, when the daff is used for occasions where it has not been licensed. In that sense one should understand what al-Khallal records (p. 27) from al-Hasan—meaning al-Basri—who said: “The frame drums are in no way part of the Muslims’ practice, and the companions of ʿAbd Allah,” meaning Ibn