1841 — Abū ‘Abd Allah al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Ufayr al-Ansārī narrated to us, saying: Muhammad ibn Yahyā al-Azdī narrated to us, saying: al-Muthannā ibn Bahr al-Qushayrī narrated to us, saying: ‘Abd al-Wāhid ibn Sulaymān narrated to us, from al-Hasan ibn al-Hasan ibn ‘Alī, from his father, from ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib—may Allah be pleased with him—who said:

Three days before the Prophet’s death, peace and blessings be upon him, Gabriel, peace be upon him, descended to him and said, “O Muhammad, the One who knows better than you what you are experiencing has sent me to you, especially for you, to honor you and grant you distinction. He asks you: ‘How are you feeling?’” He replied, “O Gabriel, I feel weighed down with grief; O Gabriel, I feel anguished.”

On the second day, Gabriel, peace be upon him, descended to him and said, “O Muhammad, the One who knows better than you what you are experiencing has sent me to you, especially for you, to honor you and grant you distinction. He asks you: ‘How are you feeling?’” He replied, “O Gabriel, I feel weighed down with grief; O Gabriel, I feel anguished.”

He said: On the third day, Gabriel descended accompanied by the Angel of Death and by an angel on his left named Ismā‘īl. His host consisted of seventy thousand angels, and each angel among them commanded a host of one hundred thousand: “None knows the forces of your Lord except Him” [al-Muddaththir: 31]. He sought his Lord’s—Glorious and Exalted—permission to meet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and greet him. Gabriel, peace be upon him, went ahead of them and said, “Peace be upon you, O Muhammad. The One who knows better than you what you are experiencing has sent me to you, especially for you, to honor you and grant you distinction. He asks you: ‘How are you feeling?’” He replied, “I feel weighed down with grief, and I feel anguished.”

He said: The Angel of Death then sought permission to enter. Gabriel said, “O Muhammad, this is the Angel of Death seeking permission to enter. Know that he has never sought permission to enter upon anyone before you, nor will he seek permission to enter upon anyone after you.” He said, “Grant him permission, O Gabriel.” He said ⦗2361⦘: He entered and said, “Peace be upon you, O Muhammad. My Lord and your Lord has sent me to you and commanded me to obey whatever you command me to do. If you command me to take your soul, I shall take it; and if you do not wish it, I shall leave it.” He asked, “Will you truly do that, O Angel of Death?” He replied, “That is what I have been commanded, O Muhammad.”

Gabriel then turned to him and said, “O Muhammad, Allah—Glorious and Exalted—has longed for you and loves to meet you.” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, then turned to the Angel of Death and said, “Proceed with what you have been commanded to do.” The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was then taken in death. We heard someone saying, though we could see nothing: “In Allah there is consolation for everyone who dies, compensation for every calamity, and a replacement for everything lost. So place your trust in Allah and set your hope in Him alone, for the truly deprived is the one deprived of reward.”