Muhammad bin Umar says: (His lineage is) al-Harith bin Hisham bin al-Mughirah bin Abdullah bin Umar bin Makhzum.

Abdullah bin Ikrimah narrates that on the day of the Conquest of Makkah, al-Harith bin Hisham and Abdullah bin Abi Rabi'ah came to Umm Hani bint Abi Talib and sought her protection. They said: "We are under your protection," and she granted them protection. Then Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) entered upon them, looked at them and drew his sword on them. As he was about to attack them, Umm Hani clung to him and said: "Of all people, you do this to me? You will have to finish me off before them." Ali said: "Are you giving protection to polytheists?" Then he went out from there. Umm Hani says: I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have a complaint about my brother Ali; I barely escaped from him. I had given protection to two relatives of mine, and he rushed at them to kill them." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He had no right to do that. We have given protection to whom you gave protection, and granted safety to whom you granted safety." So she went back to them and informed them, and the two of them went off to their homes. It was said to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): "Al-Harith bin Hisham and Abdullah bin Abi Rabi'ah are sitting in their gathering, wrapped in fine saffron-dyed sheets." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There is no room for laying hands on them; we have granted them safety." Al-Harith bin Hisham says: I felt ashamed that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) should see me, because on every occasion I had opposed him (peace and blessings be upon him) alongside the polytheists. Then I remembered his (peace and blessings be upon him) kindness and mercy, and I met him (peace and blessings be upon him) as he was entering the mosque. He (peace and blessings be upon him) was very pleased to see me and stopped until I reached him (peace and blessings be upon him). I greeted him (peace and blessings be upon him) with salam and bore witness to the truth (the testimony of faith). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "All praise is for Allah who has guided you. A man of understanding like you could not have remained ignorant of the reality of Islam." Al-Harith says: By Allah, I have never seen anything like Islam of which a person had (previously) been ignorant.

Abd al-Rahman bin al-Harith bin Hisham narrates from his father, who said: I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) during his Hajj, while he (peace and blessings be upon him) was mounted on his she-camel, saying: "By Allah, you are the best piece of land and the most beloved land to Allah, and had I not been driven out of you, I would never have left." (Al-Harith says:) I said: "If only we had not done that! So return (to Makkah), for it is your birthplace and your beloved place." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I asked my Lord, the Mighty and Majestic: 'O Allah, You have taken me out of the land of Yours that is most beloved to me, so now settle me in the land that is most beloved to You.' So Allah settled me in Madinah."

Muhammad bin Umar (al-Waqidi) states that al-Harith (bin Hisham) (may Allah be pleased with him) remained in Makkah after accepting Islam until the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away. Then, when the letter of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived, calling the Muslims out to fight the Romans, al-Harith bin Hisham, Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl and Suhayl bin Amr came to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) in Madinah. He went to them at their lodgings, welcomed them, greeted them with salam and expressed his joy at their arrival. Then they set out with the Muslims as warriors to Syria. Al-Harith bin Hisham took part in the battles of Fihl and Ajnadayn, and died in Syria in the plague of Amwas in the year 18 AH. After him, Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) married his wife Fatimah bint al-Walid bin al-Mughirah, who was the mother of Abdullah bin al-Harith. Abd al-Rahman (bin al-Harith) used to say: I have not seen a better stepfather than Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). Abd al-Rahman bin al-Harith bin Hisham was among the nobles of Quraysh.

Abu Nawfal bin Abi Aqrab narrates that when al-Harith bin Hisham left Makkah (for jihad), the people of Makkah were extremely grieved, and everyone came out to bid him farewell. When he reached a high point of al-Batha and the people stood around him weeping, seeing the people's grief he said: "O people, I have not left you because my own life is dearer to me than yours, nor because I prefer another city over your city. Rather, (the truth is that) some men of Quraysh had already set out in this matter (emigration and jihad). By Allah, they (went ahead of us) not merely on account of tribal lineage, but on the basis of their (faithful) households. By Allah, today even if the mountains of Makkah were turned to gold and we spent them in the path of Allah, we could not attain (the merit of) their early days. And by Allah, if they have gone ahead of us in this world, we seek to share with them in the reward of the Hereafter. So let a man fear Allah who sets out to Syria as a warrior and is granted martyrdom."

Mus'ab bin Abdullah al-Zubayri narrates from his father that al-Harith bin Hisham was among those who took part in the Battle of Badr with the polytheists, and was defeated and fled. Sayyiduna Hassan bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) taunted him for this and composed verses about him: "If what you told me was a lie, / then you escaped as al-Harith bin Hisham escaped; / he abandoned his loved ones, though he should have fought for them, / and escaped with only his horse and its bridle." Then al-Harith bin Hisham composed these verses in apology for fleeing that day: "Allah knows well that I did not abandon fighting them (without reason), / until they struck my horse with a tawny, foaming horse; / then I knew that if I fought alone, / I would be killed, and my presence on the field would not harm my enemy at all; / so I turned back from them, while my loved ones were among them, / in the hope of (a chance of) revenge against them on another day." Then he took part in the Battle of Uhud with the polytheists, and remained firmly attached to polytheism until he accepted Islam on the day of the Conquest of Makkah.

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates from al-Harith bin Hisham (may Allah be pleased with him) that he asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "How does the revelation come down to you?" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Sometimes it comes like the ringing of a bell, then that state leaves me and I have retained what he said; and this is the hardest on me. And sometimes the angel comes to me in human form and speaks to me, and I retain what he says."