Mishkat al-Masabih 5293 — (Ar-riqaq) Words that soften the heart

Abdullah ibn Shaddad Narrated from:

Three men of the Banu Udhra came to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and embraced Islam. (They stayed on the learn religion, but since were unable to meet their ends,) Allah's Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم asked, "Who would support them?" Sayyiduna Talhah رضي الله عنه offered, "I." So, they stayed with him. Meanwhile, the Prophet dispatched an army and one of them joined it and (during fighting) he was martyred. Again, he sent an army in which another (of them) enlisted himself. He (too) was martyred. Then, the third man dies on his bed.The sub narrator said that Talhah رضي الله عنه continued his narration, saying, "I saw them, all three, in paradise. The one who had died on his bed was ahead of them. He who had been martyred second followed him and he who was the first to be Martyred was after him. This perplexed me. So, I mentioned it to the Prophet ﷺ.He asked, 'What worries you in that? In Allah's esteem, no one is more excellent than a believer who is given a long life in Islam so that he glorifies Him, magnifies Him and declares His unity.' (And engages in other forms of worship, getting more opportunity to do that.) [1]