4] Isnaad of the hadeeth about the Angel of Death asking the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) for permission to take his soul

4]
How sound is this hadeeth? “The angel Jibreel entered upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: ‘The Angel of Death is at the door, and he is asking permission to enter upon you. He has never asked permission from anyone before you.’ He said, ‘Let him in, O Jibreel.’ The Angel of Death entered and said: ‘Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allaah. Allaah has sent meto give you the choice between staying in this world and meeting Allaah.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Rather the Higher Companion, rather the Higher Companion.’ So theAngel of Death stood at the head of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) as hewill stand at the head of each of us, and said: ‘O good soul, the soul of Muhammad ibn ‘Abd-Allaah, come out to the good pleasure of Allaah and a Lord Who is pleased and is not angry.’”.
Praise be to Allaah.
There are many ahaadeeth about the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Many such reports have been narrated, but the saheeh ones are mixed with the false ones, and many people are careless about quoting reports which have no basis or which have been narratedvia unsound isnaads. The one who is seeking soundreports on this subject should refer to the saheehahaadeeth, which are sufficient and in which he will information about the incidents surrounding the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and in which there are important lessons to be learned.
Al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah (5/256):
Al-Waaqidi and others narrated many reports concerning the death (of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)) in which thereare many strange things. We have refrained from mentioning many of thembecause of their weak isnaads and dubious content, especially those narrated by many storytellers, later writers and others. Many of them are undoubtedly fabricated. In the saheeh and hasan ahaadeeth which are narrated in the well known books there issufficient information andwe have no need of lies and reports whose isnaads are unknown. AndAllaah knows best. End quote.
After researching the reports about the death of the Prophet (peace andblessings of Allaah be upon him), we could not find the hadeeth mentioned by the questioner in this version, but there are ahaadeeth about the Angel of Death asking the Prophet (peaceand blessings of Allaah be upon him) for permission, in wording similar to that mentioned by the questioner. But these are weak (da’eef) ahaadeeth which the scholars judgedto be false and fabricated. For example:
There is a hadeeth narrated by ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn from his father, telling a long story in which the Angel of Death asks for permission to enter upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and speaks with him.
This story was narrated by al-Tabaraani in al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer (3/129) and in Kitaab al-Du’aa’ (1/367).
Al-Haythami said in Majma’ al-Zawaa’id (9/35):Its isnaad includes ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Maymoon al-Qaddaah, whose reports are worthless.
He was also judged as such by al-Haafiz al-‘Iraaqiin Takhreej al-Ihya’ (4/560); al-Haafiz ibn Hajar in Ajwabah Ba’d Talaameedhatihi (1/87) and Ibn Katheer in al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah (5/290). Al-Albaani said in al-Silsilah al-Da’eefah (5384): it is mawdoo’ (fabricated).
There is another hadeeth which was narrated by Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him), in which it mentions the Angel of death seeking permission to enter upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) during his finalillness. This was narrated by al-Tabaraani in al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer (12/141).
Al-Haythami said in Majma’ al_Zawaa’id (9/36):its isnaad includes al-Mukhtaar ibn Naafi’, who is da’eef (weak).
Al-‘Iraaqi said in Takhreej al-Ihya’ (4/560): It isnaad includes al-Mukhtaari ibn Naafi’, whose hadeeth is rejected.
With regard to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) being given the choice between deathand staying in this world, and his saying, “Rather the Higher Companion,” this is proven in al-Saheehayn in the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), which is quoted in the answer to question no. 45841 , q.v.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about the story of the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): it is mentioned in some booksof history that the Angel of Death came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in the form of a Bedouin and asked for permission to enter upon him. How true is this?/ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en