Mukhtasar Muslim

Masruq says: We asked Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) about this verse: "Do not think of those who are killed in the way of Allah as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, being provided for." So Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We asked about this verse (from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The souls of the martyrs are in the bodies of green birds, inside lanterns hanging from the Throne, and they roam freely in Paradise wherever they wish, then return to their lanterns. Once, their Lord looked at them and said: Do you desire anything? They said: What more could we desire? We roam freely in Paradise wherever we wish. But their Lord, Glorified and Exalted, asked them three times. When they saw that they would not be left without making a request (i.e., their Lord kept asking), they said: O our Lord! We wish that our souls be returned to our bodies (i.e., our worldly bodies) so that we may be killed again in Your path. When their Lord saw that they had no other wish, He left them as they were.