Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 37721 — Yahya bin Jadah

It is narrated from Abdullah bin Isa that he said: Among those before you was a man who worshipped Allah on land for forty years. Then he prayed: O Lord, I long to worship You at sea. Some people came, and he asked them to take him aboard, and they took him aboard (the boat). The boat went on carrying them for as long as Allah willed, and then it stopped. There was a tree there at the edge of the water. The narrator said: The man said (to the people of the boat): Set me down at this tree. The narrator said: The people said: How will you stay alive in this place? He said: I only asked you to take me aboard, so set me down wherever I wish. So they set him down there, and the boat set off again with the remaining people. Then an angel wished to ascend to the heaven, and he recited the words by which he used to ascend, but he could not ascend to the heaven. He realized that this was the result of some fault of his. So he came to the man of the tree and asked him to intercede for him with his Lord. The narrator said: The man prayed and made supplication for the angel. The narrator said: The angel also requested of his Lord that he himself should take the worshipper's soul, so that the pain would be lighter than from the Angel of Death. When the man's death came, this angel presented himself and said: I have requested of my Lord that He accept my intercession for you, just as He accepted your intercession for me, and that I should be the one to take your soul. So I will take your soul in whichever way you wish. The narrator said: Then the worshipper prostrated, a tear came from his eye, and he died.