{ Do not at all deem those who have been killed in the cause of Allah to be dead, but rather alive with their Lord, bestowed with favor; joyful in what Allah has brought them of His abundance, rejoicing over those behind them who have not yet met up with them, that no fear is upon them nor are they sad; rejoicing over grace from Allah and abundance, and that Allah does not squander the reward of the believers } Al ‘Imran 169-171

From Masruq who said: We asked Abdullah about this verse: { Do not at all deem those who have been killed in the cause of Allah to be dead, but rather alive with their Lord, bestowed with favor } . He said: Indeed we also asked about that, and he said: Their spirits are inside green birds who have lamps hanging from the Throne, and they roam freely in Jannah wherever they wish, then retire to the lamps. And their Lord once appeared and looked at them deeply, and said: Is there anything you all desire? They said: What could we desire when we roam freely in Jannah wherever we wish? But He did this to them three times, and when they realized that they would not be left alone from being asked, they said: Oh Lord, we want you to return our spirits to our bodies so that we can be killed in your cause once again. And when He saw that they had no needs, they were left alone.