I cannot get up to reach it.” The blind man said, “I can get up to reach it, but I cannot see it.” The man who could not walk said to him, “Come and carry me so that I can pick it.” So he carried him, and the other began directing him wherever he wished to go, until he picked the fruit.’ The angel said, ‘Which of them should be punished?’ They both replied, ‘Both of them.’ He said, ‘The same applies to you two.’”

Furthermore, numerous hadiths have been transmitted from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, establishing that souls are taken at death, granted bliss, or punished. A soul is told: “Come out, O good soul that dwelt in a good body,” or: “Come out, O wicked soul that dwelt in a wicked body.” The former is told: “Receive glad tidings of rest and provision,” while the latter is told: “Receive tidings of boiling water, ghassāq, and other torments of similar kinds.” These hadiths also establish that the souls of believers ascend to heaven, whereas the gates of heaven are not opened for the souls of unbelievers.

In Sahīh Muslim, ‘Abd Allah ibn Shaqīq narrates from Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:

“When the believer’s soul departs, two angels receive it and ascend with it.” Hammād said: “He mentioned its pleasant fragrance and mentioned musk.” He continued: “The inhabitants of heaven say, ‘A good soul has come from the earth. May Allah bless you and the body you inhabited.’ It is then taken to its Lord, who says, ‘Take it away until the appointed term ends.’

“As for the unbeliever, when his soul departs”—Hammād said that he mentioned its stench and a curse—“the inhabitants of heaven say, ‘A wicked soul has come from the earth.’ Then it is said, ‘Take it away until the appointed term ends.’”

Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, mentioned the stench, he drew the cloth he was wearing over his nose.”