Ibn Hibban

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates this statement of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him): "When the soul of a believer is taken, the angels of mercy come to him with a white cloth and say: '(Come out of this body) towards the mercy of Allah Almighty.' So the soul comes out as if it is the purest fragrance of musk, until the angels pass it to one another and smell it, until they bring it to the gate of the sky. Then the angels (of the sky) say: 'What is this pure fragrance that has come from the earth?' The angels say this at every sky they pass, until they bring it to the souls of the believers. Then those souls rejoice at meeting it just as the family of an absent person rejoices at his return. They say: 'What is the condition of so-and-so?' Then others say: 'Leave him, let him rest, for he was in the distress of the world.' Then the (deceased) says: 'What about so-and-so?' They say: 'He has passed away, has he not come to you?' They say: 'He must have been taken to his abode in Hawiyah.' (The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, says:) As for the disbeliever, the angels of punishment come to him with a coarse, rough cloth and say: 'Come out towards the wrath of Allah.' So the soul comes out as if it is the foulest stench of a decaying corpse, and they bring it to the gate of the earth."