1806 — “The price of wine is forbidden; the earnings of a prostitute are forbidden; the price of a dog is forbidden; and the kūbah is forbidden. If the owner of a dog comes to you seeking its price, then fill his hands with dust. Wine, gambling, and every intoxicant are forbidden.”

Al-Ṭabarānī recorded it in al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr (3/169/1, no. 12601, printed edition; it contains a transposition), through Maʿqil ibn ʿUbayd Allāh, from ʿAbd al-Karīm, from Qays ibn Ḥabtar al-Rabʿī, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said …

I say: This is a good chain of transmission; all its narrators are trustworthy. Maʿqil ibn ʿUbayd Allāh, who was al-Jazarī, had slight weakness in his retention, but Muslim relied upon him, and he is corroborated, as will follow. ʿAbd al-Karīm is the trustworthy al-Jazarī. Aḥmad also recorded the hadith in separate portions (1/278, 289, and 350), through various routes from ʿAbd al-Karīm, with this chain. Abū Dāwūd (3482) and al-Ṭayālisī (2755) narrated part of it.

ʿAlī ibn Badhīmah also corroborated him, saying: “Qays ibn Ḥabtar narrated to me something similar.” Aḥmad recorded it (1/274) through Sufyān from him, adding: “Sufyān—that is, al-Thawrī—said: I asked ʿAlī ibn Badhīmah, ‘What is the kūbah?’ He replied, ‘The drum.’”

I say: ʿAlī ibn Badhīmah is trustworthy; therefore, the chain is authentic.

(Kūbah.) Ibn al-Athīr said: “It is dice. It was also said to be a drum, and it was also said to be a barbat, a lute-like instrument.” Al-Muʿjam al-Wasīṭ states: “It is a musical instrument resembling a lute; or dice; or chess.”