It is narrated from Abu Habibah that I heard Sayyiduna Hakim bin Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him) saying: "I was born thirteen years before the coming of the People of the Elephant, and I was old enough to understand when Abd al-Muttalib intended to sacrifice his son Abdullah, and that event was five years before the birth of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)." Muhammad bin Umar (al-Waqidi) says: Hakim bin Hizam took part in the war of al-Fijar with his father, and his father Hizam bin Khuwaylid was killed in the last battle of al-Fijar. Hakim's kunyah was Abu Khalid. Among his children were Abdullah, Khalid, Yahya and Hisham, and their mother was Zaynab bint al-Awwam; according to one view, Hisham's mother was Mulaykah bint Malik. All of Hakim's children lived in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), accepted Islam on the day of the Conquest of Makkah, and had the honour of the companionship of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). It is reported that Hakim bin Hizam reached the age of one hundred and twenty. In the year of his Hajj, Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) sent him a milch camel, having first asked him what he ate, and he said: "I no longer have the strength to chew." So he sent him the camel to drink from, along with a gift, but he refused to accept it and said: "I have not taken anything from anyone after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Abu Bakr and Umar called me to take my due, but I refused to take it from them as well."

It is narrated from Muhammad bin Umar (al-Waqidi): Ibn Abi al-Zinad relates from his father that Sayyiduna Hakim bin Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked: O Abu Khalid, what is (the true essence of) wealth? He replied: "Having few dependants (that is, having few responsibilities)." The narrator says that Sayyiduna Hakim bin Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him) came to Madinah, settled there and built a house, and he passed away in Madinah in 54 AH, when he was one hundred and twenty years old.

It is narrated from Mus'ab bin Abdullah that he mentioned the lineage of Sayyiduna Hakim bin Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him) and added to it that his mother was Fakhitah bint Zuhayr bin Asad bin Abd al-Uzza. She gave birth to Hakim inside the Ka'bah: she was pregnant and her labour pains came upon her inside the Ka'bah, and the birth took place there. She was carried out on a leather mat, and the clothes that had been beneath her were washed beside the basin of Zamzam. No one was born in the Ka'bah before him or after him. Mus'ab erred in this last statement, because the reports have reached the level of tawatur (mass transmission) that Sayyidah Fatimah bint Asad (may Allah be pleased with her) gave birth to the Commander of the Believers, Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah honour his face), inside the Ka'bah.

Hisham bin Urwah narrates from his father that, until his death, Sayyiduna Hakim bin Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him) did not accept (any stipend or gift) from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), nor from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), nor from Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), nor from Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Hakim bin Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "I freed forty slaves in the time of Jahiliyyah, so I asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) whether I would have any reward for them." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You have accepted Islam along with the good deeds you did before." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim).

Hisham bin Urwah narrates from his father that Sayyiduna Hakim bin Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him) had freed one hundred slaves in the time of Jahiliyyah and provided mounts for (people) on one hundred camels. Then, when he accepted Islam, he freed (another) one hundred slaves and provided mounts on one hundred camels. He said to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): What do you think of the good deeds I used to do in the time of Jahiliyyah with the intention of worship; will I have any reward for them? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "You have accepted Islam along with those previous good deeds and their reward."