[3] Daf is the national musical instrument of Pakistan[4][5] and is also depicted on the reverse and obverse of the Azerbaijani 1 qəpik coin and 1 manat banknote respectively, since 2006.

The right-hand fingers are fastened about their neighbours and suddenly released, like the action of finger-snapping, to produce loud, rapid, sharp sounds.

Also, there is a kind of square frame drum in the stonecutting of Taq-e Bostan (another famous monument located 5km northeast of Kermanshah city).

These frame drums were played in the ancient Middle East, Greece, and Rome and reached medieval Europe through Islamic culture.

Dafs can be played to produce highly complex and intense rhythms, causing one to go under a trance and reach an ecstatic and spiritually-high state.

[citation needed] An engraved bronze cup from Lorestan at the National Museum of Iran in Tehran, portrays a double ney (end-blown reed pipes), chang (harp), and a daf in a shrine or court processional, as similarly documented in Egypt, Elam, and the Persian province of Babylonia, where music was arranged for performance by large orchestral ensembles.

[citation needed] The daf still functions as an important part of Iranian music (both traditional and classical) as it did in ancient times.

[12][13] The Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, did not impose a total prohibition on using the daf, stating that it is permissible during Eid, a wedding Walima, or to greet a government official after they arrive from a journey.