And he—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked about a man who was told that it had been reported from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“The inhabitants of Paradise eat, drink, and enjoy themselves, but neither urinate nor defecate.”

He replied, “Whoever eats and drinks urinates and defecates.” Then he was told, “There are birds in Paradise which, whenever one desires them, appear before him in whatever form he wishes, as food or otherwise.” He replied, “This is nonsense.” Does his denial of this make him a disbeliever and necessitate his execution, or not?

He answered:

Eating and drinking in Paradise are established by the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger, and the consensus of the Muslims. This is something necessarily known to be part of the religion of Islam. Likewise, there are undoubtedly birds and palaces in Paradise, as described in the authentic hadiths established from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Similarly, the inhabitants of Paradise neither urinate, defecate, nor spit. No believer in Allah and His Messenger has disagreed with this. Anyone who disagrees is one of two kinds: either a disbeliever or a hypocrite. As for the disbeliever, the Jews and Christians deny eating, drinking, and sexual relations in