Chapter 32: The grave and disintegration (of the body) - كتاب الزهد
حَدَّثَنَا سُوَيْدُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، أَنْبَأَنَا مَالِكُ بْنُ أَنَسٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ كَعْبٍ الأَنْصَارِيِّ، أَنَّهُ أَخْبَرَهُ أَنَّ أَبَاهُ كَانَ يُحَدِّثُ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قَالَ : " إِنَّمَا نَسَمَةُ الْمُؤْمِنِ طَائِرٌ يَعْلُقُ فِي شَجَرِ الْجَنَّةِ حَتَّى يَرْجِعَ إِلَى جَسَدِهِ يَوْمَ يُبْعَثُ " .
It was narrated from ‘Abdur-Rahman bin Ka’b Al-Ansari that his father used to narrate that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
“The believer’s soul is a bird that eats from the trees of Paradise, until it will be returned to his body on the Day when he is resurrected.”