Its documentation has already been given under no. 365, so consult it.
- “The souls of the believers are in the bodies of green birds, feeding on the trees of Paradise.”
It was narrated by Ibn Majah (1449), al-Harbi in Gharib al-Hadith (5/210/1), and Ibn Mandah in al-Ma‘rifah (2/363/1), through Muhammad ibn Ishaq, from al-Harith ibn Fudayl, from al-Zuhri, from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Ka‘b ibn Malik, from his father, who said:
“When death approached Ka‘b, Umm Mubashshir bint al-Bara’ ibn Ma‘rur entered upon him and said, ‘O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman, if you meet my son, convey my greetings to him.’ He replied, ‘May Allah forgive you, Umm Mubashshir; we are too preoccupied for that.’ She said, ‘O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman, have you not heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say’”—and she mentioned the hadith. He said, ‘Yes.’ She said, ‘Then that is the case.’”
I say: This is a weak chain of transmission. Its narrators are trustworthy, but its defect lies in Ibn Ishaq, for he practised tadlis, concealing intermediary narrators. It appears that he received it from one of the weak narrators and then omitted him. Ma‘mar narrated it from al-Zuhri, from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Ka‘b ibn Malik, who said:
“Umm Mubashshir said to Ka‘b ibn Malik while he was ill, ‘Convey my greetings to my son’—meaning Mubashshir. He replied, ‘May Allah forgive you, Umm Mubashshir! Have you not heard what the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “The soul of the Muslim is but a bird feeding on the trees of Paradise, until Allah returns it to his body on the Day of Resurrection”?’ She said, ‘You have spoken the truth; I seek Allah’s forgiveness.’”
Ahmad narrated it (3/455).
I say: This is an authentic chain of transmission according to the criteria of al-Bukhari and Muslim. It differs from what Ibn Ishaq narrated, for her words, “You have spoken the truth; I seek Allah’s forgiveness,” plainly show that Ka‘b had established the proof against her, unlike Ibn Ishaq’s narration, which is the opposite, as is