with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, for the funeral of a man from the Ansār. We reached the grave, whose burial niche had not yet been dug. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sat down, and we sat around him, so still that it was as though birds were perched on our heads. He held a stick with which he scratched the ground. Then he raised his head and said, “Seek refuge in Allah from the punishment of the grave,” repeating this twice or three times. Then he said:

“When a believing servant is leaving this world and approaching the Hereafter, angels descend to him from heaven with radiant faces, as bright as the sun. They bring a shroud from Paradise and perfume from Paradise for his burial, and sit as far from him as his sight can reach. Then the Angel of Death comes and sits by his head, saying, ‘O good soul, come out to forgiveness from Allah and His pleasure.’”

He continued:

“It comes out, flowing as a drop flows from the mouth of a waterskin, and he takes it. Once he has taken it, they do not leave it in his hand even for the blink of an eye before taking it and placing it in that shroud and that perfume. From it comes a fragrance like the finest scent of musk ever found on the face of the earth. They ascend with it, and whenever they pass a company of angels between heaven and earth—with the soul, that is—the angels ask, ‘What is this good soul?’ They reply, ‘So-and-so, son of so-and-so,’ using the finest names by which he was known in this world.

“They continue until they reach the lowest heaven with him and ask for it to be opened for him, and it is opened. In each heaven, its angels who are nearest to Allah accompany him to the next heaven, until they reach the seventh heaven with him. Then Allah Most High says, ‘Enter My servant’s record in ‘Illiyyīn and return him to the earth, for from it I created them, to it I shall return them, and from it I shall bring them forth once again.’”

He continued:

“His soul is then returned, and two angels come to him and make him sit up. They ask him, ‘Who is your Lord?’ He replies, ‘Allah is my Lord.’ They ask him, ‘What is your religion?’ He replies: