The Ruling on Nasheeds. Shaykh Dr. Saalih al Fawzaan [hafidhahuAllaah]

1. Lahw means false or vain talk used for the purpose of amusement.
2. Murattal is a type of melodious Qur'aan Recitation.

Extra Beneficial Fatwas inshaAllaah:

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

To sum up, what is well known in the Islamic religion is that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not prescribe for the righteous, devoted worshippers and ascetics of his ummah to gather to listen to poetic verses recited to the accompaniment of clapping or the beating of a duff. It is not permissible for anyone to deviate from following him and following that which he brought of the Book and wisdom, whether that has to do with inward or outward matters, either for an ordinary man or a member of the elite. But the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) granted concessions allowing some kinds of entertainment in weddings and the like, and he allowed women to beat the duff during weddings and other celebrations.
As for the men of his era, not one of them used to beat the duff or clap, rather it is proven in al-Saheeh that he said: "Clapping is for women, and tasbeeh is for men" and he cursed the women who imitate men and the men who imitate women.

Because singing, beating the duff and clapping are things that women do, the salaf used to call a man who did those things effeminate, and they called men who sang effeminate, and this is well known among their sayings. End quote.
[Majmoo' al-Fataawa (11/565, 566)]

Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
I remember full well that when I was in Damascus, two years before I migrated here to 'Ammaan, some of the Muslim youth started to sing some anaasheed that had sound meanings, intending thereby to counteract the Sufi songs like the Busayri poems and others, and they recorded that on tapes, but soon it was accompanied by beating the duff! At first they used it in wedding parties, on the basis that the duff is permissible in such parties, then the tapes became widespread and copies were made of them, and they started to be used in many homes, and they started to listen to them day and night, whether there was an occasion or not. That became their way of relaxing. But that is due only to their whims and desires and their ignorance of the shaytaan's tricks, so he diverted them from paying attention to the Qur'aan and listening to it, let alone studying it, and it became forsaken by them, as it says in the verse (interpretation of the meaning): "And the Messenger (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) will say: 'O my Lord! Verily, my people deserted this Qur'aan (neither listened to it nor acted on its laws and teachings)'" [al-Furqaan 25:30].
[Tahreem Aalaat al-Tarb (p. 181, 182)]