Mustadrak al-Hakim — Hadith 1318

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, when the time of death comes to the believer, the angels of mercy come with a white silk cloth and say: (O soul!) Come out, pleased and well-pleasing, to the mercy of Allah and fragrance, and to your Lord who is not angry with you. So the soul comes out like the finest scent of musk, so much so that the angels pass it to one another and smell it, until they bring it to the gate of the heaven, and they say: What a pure fragrance this is that has come to you from the earth! At whichever heaven they arrive, its angels say the same, until they bring it to the souls of the believers. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: They are happier at its arrival than any of you is at the return of someone who was absent. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: They ask it: What did so-and-so do? The angels say: Leave it so that it may rest, for it was in the grief and worry of the world. Then, when the soul says to them: Did he not come to you, when he has already died? they say: He has been taken to his abode, 'Hawiyah' (the Abyss). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: As for the disbeliever, the angels of punishment come to him and say: Come out, displeased and displeasing, to the punishment of Allah and His wrath. So the soul comes out like the foulest stench of a carcass. Then they take it to the gate of the earth and say: What a foul stench this is! Whichever land they pass by, its angels say the same, until they bring it to the souls of the disbelievers."