Abu Sallam (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Khalid bin Zayd (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated to him: I was an archer, and Uqbah bin Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) used to call me, saying: "Khalid! Come, let us shoot arrows." One day I was late, so he said: "Come, let me narrate to you what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) narrated to me, or let me tell you what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said." He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah Almighty will admit three people into Paradise because of a single arrow: its maker who seeks good in making it, the one who shoots it, and the one who hands it to him. So shoot and ride, and your shooting is dearer to me than your riding. There are only three kinds of play: training one's horse, playing with one's wife, and shooting arrows. Whoever learns archery and then abandons it out of disinterest has been ungrateful for a blessing."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الشهادات / 20975
Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Amir al-Juhani (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): "All the play that a man engages in is falsehood, except 1. shooting arrows, 2. training a horse, 3. playing with one's wife; these are rightful. Whoever abandons archery has shown ingratitude for what he had learned."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الشهادات / 20976
Urwah narrates from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to me while I had two young girls singing with me, who were reciting poems about the battle of Bu'ath. He (peace and blessings be upon him) lay down and turned his face away. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) came in, scolded me and said: This is the musical instrument of Satan, in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned to him and said: "Leave them both." When he became inattentive, I quietly signalled them both out. She says: It was the day of Eid, and the Sudanese were playing with shields and spears. I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Would you like to watch?" I said: Yes. He (peace and blessings be upon him) made me stand behind him, my cheek against his (peace and blessings be upon him) cheek, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) was saying: "Carry on, O Banu Arfidah!" until I grew tired. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Is that enough?" I said: Yes. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Go."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الشهادات / 20977
Amir al-Sha'bi narrates from Iyad al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) that he attended an Eid in al-Anbar and said: Why do I not see you playing (taqlis)? They used to do it in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Yusuf bin Adi says that "al-taqlis" means that girls and boys sit at the roadsides playing drums (and the like).
The Shaykh says: Hushaym narrated it from al-Mughirah, except that he said: "For it is of the Sunnah on the two Eids," meaning beating the duff when returning (from the Eid prayer).
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الشهادات / 20978
Sayyiduna Qays bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) says: Everything that was done in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) I have seen being done after him, except one thing: play (taqlis) used to be performed for him on the day of Eid al-Fitr.
(b) Amr bin Muhammad narrates from Isra'il that play used to be performed for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on the day of Eid, and "al-taqlis" means play.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الشهادات / 20979