I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, "The martyrs and those who died on their beds will dispute before Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, concerning those who died from the plague.The martyrs will say, 'Our brothers were killed in battle.'Those who died on their beds will say, 'They are our brothers who died on their beds just as we did.'So Allah will judge between them, saying, 'Look at the wounds of those struck by the plague. If their wounds resemble the wounds of the martyrs, then they belong with them.'They will look at the wounds of those struck by the plague and find that they indeed resemble the wounds of the martyrs, so they will be joined with them."
سمعت رسول الله ﷺ يقول: يختصم الشهداء والمتوفون على فرشهم إلى الله عزوجل في الذين ماتوا من الطاعون فيقول الشهداء: إخواننا قتلوا ويقول المتوفون على فرشهم إخواننا ماتوا على فرشهم كما متنا، فيقضي الله بينهم: أن انظروا إلى جراحات المطعونين فإن أشبهت جراحات الشهداء فهم منهم، فينظرون إلى جراح المطعونين، فإذا هي قد أشبهت جراح الشهداء، فيلحقون معهم.
Ahmad (17164) narrated it from Abu Yaman, who said, Ismail bin Ayyash narrated to us from Buhayr bin Saad, from Khalid bin Madan, from Ibn Abu Bilal, from Irbaz bin Sariya, who said, then he related it. It seems this hadith was known to Ismail bin Ayyash through two chains, one from the collection of Utba bin Abdul-Sulami and another from the collection of Irbaz bin Sariya.Nasai (3164) and Ahmad (17159) also narrated it through routes from Baqiya bin Walid, who said, Buhayr bin Saad narrated to me, from Khalid bin Madan, from Ibn Abu Bilal, from Irbaz, similarly. Bazzar (4194) and Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari (10/194) graded its chain hasan.Ibn Hajar said in Bazl Maun (p. 197), "This is a hasan sahih hadith. Ahmad narrated it from Haywa bin Shurayh and Yazid bin Abd Rabbih, both of them from Baqiya, who is truthful, with nothing objectionable about him except his practice of tadlis, and he has explicitly stated the mode of transmission, so his tadlis poses no concern. The Ibn Abu Bilal mentioned is a Syrian and trustworthy, his name being Abdullah."I say, this is as he said, except for the presence of Abdullah bin Abu Bilal in the chain. No one is known to have narrated from him except Khalid bin Madan, and no one has affirmed his reliability except that Ibn Hibban mentioned him among the trustworthy narrators (49/5). This is why it says in Taqrib, "acceptable," meaning when corroborated, yet I have found no corroborating narration for him. Nevertheless, Ibn Hajar described him as a trustworthy Syrian. Perhaps he came across someone's affirmation of his reliability. And Allah knows best.