Mas‘ūd—about this verse:
‘Never think of those who have been killed in the cause of Allah as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving provision.’
He replied, ‘We asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, about this, and he said:
“Their souls are inside green birds that have lamps suspended from the Throne. They roam freely in Paradise wherever they wish, then return to those lamps. Your Lord looked upon them and said, ‘Do you desire anything?’ They replied, ‘What could we desire when we roam freely in Paradise wherever we wish?’ He asked them this three times. When they realized that they would not be left without being asked, they said, ‘Our Lord, we want You to return our souls to our bodies so that we may be killed in Your cause once again.’ When He saw that they had no need, they were left alone.”’”
Allah Most High has also said:
“O reassured soul,”
“Return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing to Him,”
“Enter among My servants,”
“And enter My Paradise.”
He thus addresses it, commanding it to return to its Lord, to enter among His servants, and to enter His Paradise. This explicitly states that it is subject to His lordship. The soul (nafs) here is the spirit (rūh) that is taken away; only its attributes vary. Thus, in the authentic hadith, when the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his companions slept through the dawn prayer while travelling, he said:
“Allah took our spirits wherever He willed and returned them wherever He willed.” In another version: “He took our souls wherever He willed.”
Allah Most High says:
“Allah takes the souls at the time of their death, and those that do not die during their sleep. Then He keeps those for which He has decreed death.”
It is the spirit that is taken away and received, as related in Sahīh Muslim from Umm Salamah, who said:
“The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, entered upon Abū Salamah, whose eyes were fixed open. He closed them and then said, ‘When the spirit is taken, the gaze follows it.’ Some of his family cried out, so he said: