Arabic (Original)
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِدْرِيسَ يَعْنِي الشَّافِعِيَّ عَنْ مَالِكٍ عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ كَعْبِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ أَنَّهُ أَخْبَرَهُ أَنَّ أَبَاهُ كَعْبَ بْنَ مَالِكٍ كَانَ يُحَدِّثُ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ إِنَّمَا نَسَمَةُ الْمُؤْمِنِ طَائِرٌ يَعْلُقُ فِي شَجَرِ الْجَنَّةِ حَتَّى يُرْجِعَهُ اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى إِلَى جَسَدِهِ يَوْمَ يَبْعَثُهُ.
English Translation
Muhammad ibn Idris - meaning al-Shafi'i - told us, from Malik, from Ibn Shihab, from Abd al-Rahman ibn Ka'b ibn Malik, that he informed him that his father Ka'b ibn Malik used to relate that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "The soul of the believer is only a bird that feeds among the trees of Paradise, until Allah, Blessed and Exalted, returns it to its body on the day He resurrects it."