What is the ruling on music and singing, and are the proofs of their prohibition valid, taking into consideration that some verses, such as (And among the people is he who buys Lahw al-Hadith [idle talk]) and (And as for the poets, the erring ones follow them), may not have been intended to prohibit singing and music themselves, and that calm music soothes the nerves?

We do not use the verse from Surah Ash-Shu'ara as evidence for the prohibition of singing. Rather, we use the verse from Surah Luqman, citing Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) who swore that what is meant by it is singing, as reported by Al-Hakim, who authenticated it, and Al-Dhahabi concurred. As for the hadiths we use as evidence, we clarify their chain of narration and do not rely on weak hadiths. We have already explained the texts regarding this and the statements of the scholars in Fatwas no. 61775 and 69680.