Among the points he cites is his statement:

“The only proof that the Prophet ﷺ rebuked Abu Bakr is his saying, ‘Are the flutes of Satan being played in the presence of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?’”

I reply: The ḥadīth contains nothing of the sort—not even by implication. What it does contain is the Prophet’s ﷺ rebuke of Abu Bakr for rebuking the two girls, and he clarified the matter by saying,

“For every people has a festival, and this is our festival.”

I add: This explanation showcases the Prophet’s ﷺ eloquence. On the one hand, it implicitly affirms Abu Bakr’s condemnation of flutes as a general principle; on the other, it explicitly affirms the two girls’ singing to the duff, indicating that this is an exception to the rule. It is as though he ﷺ were saying to Abu Bakr: “You were right to maintain the principle, but you erred in censuring the two girls, for today is a festival day.”

I expressed something similar in my introduction to Shaykh Nuʿmān al-Ālūsī’s book Al-Āyāt al-Bayyināt fī ʿAdam Samāʿ al-Amwāt, where on pages 46–47 I asked: From where did Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, derive this principle? I answered:

It came from the Prophet’s ﷺ own teachings, for many hadiths forbid singing and musical instruments. After citing several early sources I added: Had Abu Bakr not been aware of this and certain of the ruling, he would never have ventured—before the very eyes of the Prophet ﷺ and in his own house—to lodge so severe an objection.1 Yet it was hidden from him that this