A report has come down that lends further weight to this interpretation; Allah knows best.

Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Musa ibn Mardawayh said: ʿAbd Allah ibn Khalid ibn Muhammad ibn Rustam narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Tahir ibn Abi al-Dumayk narrated to us (1); Ibrahim ibn Ziyad Sablān narrated to us; ʿAbbad ibn ʿAbbad narrated to us; Ruh ibn al-Musayyib narrated to us that he heard Thabit al-Bunani relate from Anas ibn Malik, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“When the believer dies, the spirits of the believers receive him and ask, ‘What became of so-and-so? What became of so-and-so?’ If he tells them that the person has died but has not yet reached them, they say, ‘He must have been consigned to his mother, Hawiyah—what a wretched mother and what a wretched nurse!’ They keep asking, ‘What about so-and-so? Did he marry? What about so-and-so? Did she marry?’ Then they say, ‘Leave him to rest, for he has come from great distress.’” (2)

Ibn Jarir said: Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿla related to us; Ibn Thawr related to us (3), from Maʿmar, from al-Ashʿath ibn ʿAbd Allah al-Aʿma, who said: When the believer dies, his spirit is taken to the spirits of the believers, who say, “Bring relief to your brother, for he was in the anxieties of the world.” They then ask him, “What became of so-and-so?” He replies, “He died—has he not come to you?” They say, “He has been taken to his mother, Hawiyah.”

Al-Hafiz al-Diyaʾ narrated through the chain of Sharik al-Qadi, from al-Aʿmash, from ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Saʾib, from Zadhan, from ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿud, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“Being killed in the path of Allah expiates all sins”—or he said, “expiates every sin—except the trust (amanah). The one burdened with a trust will be brought and it will be said to him, ‘Discharge your trust!’ He will reply, ‘How, my Lord, when the world is gone?’—three times. Then it will be said, ‘Take him to Hawiyah!’ He will be dragged away and will plunge into it until he reaches its deepest point, where he finds the trust exactly as it was. He hoists it onto his shoulders and climbs with it through the Fire of Jahannam. Whenever he imagines he has escaped, it slips, and he falls after it—thus for endless ages.”

He added: “The trust applies to the prayer, the trust applies to fasting, the trust applies to ablution, the trust applies to speech, and the sternest of all trusts are deposited belongings.”

Zadhan said: I later met al-Baraʾ and said, “Do you not hear what your brother ʿAbd Allah is saying?” He replied, “He has spoken the truth.” This narration is found neither in the Musnad nor in any of the Six Books. (4)