Is it permissible to joke with friends if it is free from lying and other matters?

Joking is permissible within the bounds of Islamic etiquette, provided it does not involve lying. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Woe to him who speaks to make people laugh, and he lies. Woe to him, woe to him." One must also avoid mockery, ridicule of others, and backbiting, as Allah the Almighty says: (O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than them; nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. Wess is the name of disobedience after faith. And whoever does not repent — then it is those who are the wrongdoers) and His saying: (And do not backbite each other. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his brother when dead? You would detest it). So, joking is fine if it is truthful, harms no one, and is not excessive. However, making joking a profession and being excessive in it is wrong. The repetition of "Woe to him" indicates the severity of destruction, because lying is the root of all evil.