4 – Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm Āl al-Shaykh said: “Announcing a marriage with the duff (frame drum) is a sunnah, and the benefit it brings is evident; it has been prescribed so that the marriage may be openly declared.”
5 – He also said: “The songs broadcast over radio stations and performed at celebrations are of two kinds:
• The first comprises pieces that contain wisdom, admonition, advice, enthusiasm, and the like—nothing romantic, and no accompaniment of flutes or similar instruments. These involve no objection because of the benefit they provide.
• The second comprises songs of romantic love that are accompanied by flutes or comparable instruments. Such songs are forbidden, and the basis for this ruling is the Quran and the Sunnah. Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ even transmitted a consensus that singing is prohibited whenever it is joined to any instrument of amusement.”
6 – Proclaiming the marriage is legislated. In the Sunan collections it is reported from Muḥammad ibn Ḥāṭib that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “The boundary between what is lawful and what is unlawful is the duff and the voice at a wedding.” Yet people have gone to excess in this regard: they enliven the night with a woman singing, her voice amplified by loudspeakers so that it reaches the farthest end of the neighborhood, disturbing and upsetting the residents and depriving them of sleep and rest. She croons with a soft, melodious voice and has been hired for tens of thousands of riyals—an extravagance in expenditure and an unlawful raising of a non-maḥram woman’s voice in songs whose words are licentious and whose tone is provocative, causing harm and robbing the neighbors of their comfort.
7 – One aspect of publicizing the marriage is having witnesses present at the time the contract is concluded. In this respect the marriage contract differs from all other contracts, for the majority of scholars hold that witnessing is a condition for its validity, whereas for other contracts it is recommended but not obligatory.
8 – Nayl al-Maʾārib states: “The fourth condition is testimony; a marriage is not valid unless two upright, accountable male witnesses are present.”
9 – Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm Āl al-Shaykh said: