“There is no proof in any of this, for three reasons:

1. No one’s statement is binding evidence except that of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
2. What is reported here contradicts other Companions and Successors.
3. The very wording of the verse nullifies their inference, for it states: ‘And among mankind are those who purchase idle talk so that they may mislead others from the path of Allah without knowledge and make a mockery of it; such people shall have a humiliating punishment’ [Luqman 31:6]. Whoever behaves in that way—turning the path of Allah into ridicule—is, by unanimous agreement, a disbeliever.”

I now reply to Ibn Ḥazm:

Concerning the first point: it is a true statement deployed for a false purpose, for it suggests that the early reports clash with what came from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in explaining the verse. Nothing of the sort exists. The only clash is with his own rigid exegesis. It is proof enough for any perceptive reader to picture this reality: the salafi reports stand on one side, while Ibn Ḥazm stands alone on the other.

As for the second point: it is all noise and no substance, for not a single Companion or Successor opposed those reports. Had any such opposition existed, Ibn Ḥazm—well known to those familiar with his polemical style—would have rushed to cite it.

Regarding the third point: Ibn al-Qayyim’s most recent remarks—apparently aimed at refuting this very claim—have already been quoted; they are powerful and perfectly clear. Do you not see that some Muslims today while away their gatherings and celebrations with worldly chatter