When death drew near to Kaab, Umm Bishr bint Bara bin Marur came to him and said, "Abu Abdul-Rahman, if you meet so-and-so, convey my greetings of peace to him."He replied, "May Allah forgive you, Umm Bishr. We will be too preoccupied for that."She said, "Abu Abdul-Rahman, did you not hear the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, 'The souls of the believers are in green birds that perch on the trees of Paradise'?"He answered, "Yes."She said, "That is exactly what I mean."
حدثنا محمد بن يحيى حدثنا يزيد بن هارون ح و حدثنا محمد بن إسمعيل حدثنا المحاربي جميعا عن محمد بن إسحق عن الحارث بن فضيل عن الزهري
لما حضرت كعبا الوفاة أتته أم بشر بنت البراء بن معرور فقالت يا أبا عبد الرحمن إن لقيت فلانا فاقرأ عليه مني السلام قال غفر الله لك يا أم بشر نحن أشغل من ذلك قالت يا أبا عبد الرحمن أما سمعت رسول الله ﷺ يقول إن أرواح المؤمنين في طير خضر تعلق بشجر الجنة قال بلى قالت فهو ذاك
[Its chain is daif] Tabarani reported it in Al-Kabir, 19/64–65, no. 122, from the hadith of Muhammad bin Ishaq with this chain, and I did not find an explicit statement of his having heard it directly. See also no. 1209. The hadith has another flaw. Tirmidhi reported it, no. 1641, and others reported it through a different route from Zuhri with this chain, in abbreviated form, and he said, hasan sahih. The following hadith (4271) serves in its place.