Sunan an-Nasa'i 3370
سنن النسائي#3370Hasanأَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الأَعْلَى، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا خَالِدٌ، عَنْ شُعْبَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي بَلْجٍ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ حَاطِبٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِنَّ فَصْلَ مَا بَيْنَ الْحَلاَلِ وَالْحَرَامِ الصَّوْتُ " .
It was narrated that Abu Balj said:"I heard Muhammad bin Hatib say: 'What differentiates between the lawful and the unlawful is the voice (singing)
Scholarly Authentication
The label above is the grade most of these scholars gave — one dissenting opinion no longer speaks for all of them. If any scholar calls a narration fabricated, that verdict is shown instead, whatever the others say. Each scholar's own wording:
Abu GhuddahHasan
Al-AlbaniHasan
Zubair Ali ZaiIsnaad Hasan
In-book reference: 26:175