The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "When your brothers were struck down at Uhud, Allah placed their souls inside green birds that drink from the rivers of Paradise, eat from its fruits, and take shelter in lamps of gold suspended in the shade of the Throne. When they found the sweetness of their food, drink, and resting place, they said, 'Who will convey to our brothers on our behalf that we are alive in Paradise and provided for, so that they will not grow disinterested in jihad nor shrink back from battle?' Allah, the Exalted, said, 'I will convey it to them on your behalf.'"He said, So Allah revealed "Do not think of those who have been killed in the way of Allah as dead" [Al Imran 3:169] to the end of the verse.
قال رسول الله ﷺ: لما أصيب إخوانكم بأحد جعل الله أرواحهم في جوف طير خضر ترد أنهار الجنة، تأكل من ثمارها، وتأوي إلى قناديل من ذهب معلقة في ظل العرش، فلما وجدوا طيب مأكلهم ومشربهم ومقيلهم قالوا: من يبلغ إخواننا عنا أنا أحياء في الجنة نرزق لئلا يزهدوا في الجهاد، ولا ينكلوا عند الحرب، فقال الله تعالى: أنا أبلغهم عنكم. قال: فأنزل الله: {ولا تحسبن الذين قتلوا في سبيل الله أموتا} إلى آخر الآية.
Abu Dawud (2520) narrated it from Uthman bin Abu Shayba, who said, Abdullah bin Idris told us, from Muhammad bin Ishaq, from Ismail bin Umaya, from Abu Zubayr, from Saeed bin Jubayr, from Ibn Abbas, and he related it.Ahmad (2389) narrated it by this same route, though the manuscripts differ as to whether it is from Ahmad's own narration or from that of his son Abdullah. Hakim graded it sahih (2/88, 297) and said, "Sahih according to the criterion of Muslim." I say, the correct view is that it is hasan, because of Muhammad bin Ishaq and Abu Zubayr. Muhammad bin Ishaq did explicitly state that he heard it directly, in the chain that follows from Ahmad, who narrated it from Yaqub, who said, my father told us, meaning Ibrahim bin Saad. The hadith is also found in Sirat bin Hisham (3/119), but there the intermediary between Abu Zubayr and Ibn Abbas is not mentioned. Likewise, most of the students of Muhammad bin Ishaq narrated it this way, for example Abdullah bin Mubarak in his book on jihad (p. 62), Ibrahim bin Saad as found in Ahmad (2388), Muhammad bin Fudayl as found in Ibn Abu Shayba (19678), Ismail bin Ayyash as found in Ibn Abu Asim's book on jihad (195), and others.Then, regarding Abdullah bin Idris, who mentioned "Saeed bin Jubayr" as the intermediary between Abu Zubayr and Ibn Abbas, there is also disagreement about his narration. Uthman bin Abu Shayba narrated it from him with the intermediary, as mentioned above, but Yusuf bin Bahlul contradicted him, narrating it from him without the intermediary, and his narration is found in Abd bin Humayd (679). This Yusuf bin Bahlul is trustworthy.However, the scholars disagreed about whether Abu Zubayr actually heard directly from Ibn Abbas. Ibn Uyayna and Abu Hatim denied this, as stated in Marasil (p. 92), while Bayhaqi affirmed it (5/144), saying, "Abu Zubayr did hear from Ibn Abbas, but there is doubt about whether he heard from Ayesha," as Bukhari stated.The hadith has another path, which is what Hakim narrated (2/378) from the hadith of Abu Ishaq Fazari, from Sufyan, from Ismail bin Abu Khalid, from Saeed bin Jubayr, from Ibn Abbas, who said, "This verse was revealed concerning Hamza and his companions." Hakim said, "This is a hadith that is sahih according to the criterion of the two shaykhs." With this corroborating narration, the hadith rises to the level of hasan. It is further supported by the statement of Abdullah bin Masud that follows.