Muwatta Malik 1612
موطأ مالك#1612Sahihقَالَ مَالِكٌ وَحَدَّثَنِي يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، أَنَّ عَائِشَةَ، قَالَتْ وَكَانَ عَامِرُ بْنُ فُهَيْرَةَ يَقُولُ قَدْ رَأَيْتُ الْمَوْتَ قَبْلَ ذَوْقِهِ إِنَّ الْجَبَانَ حَتْفُهُ مِنْ فَوْقِهِ .
Malik said that Yahya ibn Said had related to him that A'isha said that Amir ibn Fuhayra had said at the time of the epidemic, "I have seen death before tasting it, the coward's destination is from above him
Scholarly Authentication
The label above is the grade most of these scholars gave — one dissenting opinion no longer speaks for all of them. If any scholar calls a narration fabricated, that verdict is shown instead, whatever the others say. Each scholar's own wording:
Salim al-HilaliSahih
In-book reference: 45:15