When a Muslim dies, the soul is taken away; where does it go?

115 - Explaining that the believer's soul is raised to Paradise

Q: A Muslim brother from Al-Ta'if City says in his question: When a Muslim dies, the soul is taken away; where does it go?

A: The believer's soul is raised to Paradise and then to Allah (may He be Glorified
and Exalted). Then, it is restored to the body to be held accountable. Afterwards, the soul will be in Paradise as a bird flying over the trees of Paradise. Allah restores the believer's soul to the body if He (Glorified and Exalted be He) wills. As for the disbeliever's soul, the gates of heaven are closed before it and it is thrown back to the earth where it is restored to the body to be held accountable and then be tormented along with the body in the grave. May Allah forgive us!

As for the believer's soul, it will enjoy pleasure in Paradise and be restored to the body when Allah wills. It is worth mentioning that the soul is restored to the body when it is first put in the grave to be held accountable, as related in the Sahih (authentic) Hadiths that Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said that when the believer's soul leaves the body, it sends a sweet odor that is smelled by the angels who will say, "What is this sweet soul?"

Then, the gates of heaven are opened before it until it reaches Allah Who says to it, "Restore it to the body of My Servant": Thereof (the earth) We created you, and into it We shall return you, and from it We shall bring you out once again. Thus, the soul is restored to the body to be held accountable. According to some Prophetic Hadiths, such a soul will then live in Paradise as birds flying over the trees of Paradise, whereas the souls of the martyrs will live in the bodies of green birds. As for the souls of the believers, they themselves will live as birds in Paradise, as related by Ahmad and others with a sound chain of narrators on the authority of Ka`b ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace be upon him).

Source:
http://alifta.com/Fatawa/FatawaChapt...eNo=1&BookID=8