Umm Bakr bint al-Miswar bin Makhramah relates that Sayyiduna Hisham bin al-As bin Wa'il (may Allah be pleased with him) was a righteous man. On the day of Ajnadayn he sensed some weakness among the Muslims before the enemy, so he took off his iron helmet and called out: O company of Muslims! These people (the Romans) do not have the endurance to withstand the sword, so do as I do. Then he plunged into their midst and killed several of their men. He kept pressing into the very chest of the enemy, calling out loudly: "O company of Muslims! Come to me! I am Hisham bin al-As bin Wa'il! Are you fleeing from Paradise?!" until he was martyred.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The two sons of al-As are believers: Hisham and Amr." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: We (the Companions) used to say that whoever abandons his religion after accepting Islam and coming to know it, his repentance will not be accepted. Then Allah Almighty revealed this verse concerning them: "Say (O Prophet): O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah" [Surah al-Zumar: 53] . Ibn Umar says: I wrote this verse with my own hand and sent it to Hisham bin al-As bin Wa'il. He recited it aloud, then mounted his camel and went to Madinah.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) that when Makkah was conquered, Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl fled (out of fear). His wife, Umm Hakim bint al-Harith bin Hisham, was a very intelligent woman. She accepted Islam and then sought protection (for her husband) from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) instructed her to bring Ikrimah back. She went to Ikrimah and said: "I have come to you from the one who is the most devoted of people to kinship, the most righteous of people, and the best of people. I have sought protection for you, and he has granted you protection." So Ikrimah returned with her. When they drew near to Makkah, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to his Companions: "Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl is coming to you as a believer and an emigrant, so do not revile his father, for reviling the dead hurts the living and does not reach the dead." When he reached the door of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he (peace and blessings be upon him) was delighted, and, rejoicing at his arrival, stood up on his feet to receive him.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Urwah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) that on the day of the Conquest of Makkah, Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl fled towards Yemen, while his wife, Umm Hakim bint al-Harith bin Hisham, had by then become a Muslim. She asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for permission to go in search of her husband, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) gave her permission and granted Ikrimah protection. She set out with a Roman slave of hers, who tried to seduce her; she kept putting him off until she reached some people of the tribe of Akk and asked them for help, and they tied him up. She caught up with her husband at a place in Tihamah. Ikrimah had by then boarded a boat; when he sat in it, he called upon al-Lat and al-Uzza, whereupon the boatmen said that it is not permissible here to call upon anyone besides Allah. Ikrimah thought: By Allah! If He alone is in the sea, then He alone is on the land too. I pledge that I will certainly return to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). So Ikrimah returned with his wife and pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), which he (peace and blessings be upon him) accepted. And when Banu Bakr were defeated, a man of Hudhayl fled back to his wife; she reproached him, and he said: "If only you had seen us at al-Khandamah, when Safwan fled and Ikrimah fled, and the swords of the Muslims were upon us, cutting off every forearm and skull, you would not have uttered a single word of reproach." Urwah says: Sayyiduna Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl (may Allah be pleased with him), of the Banu Makhzum clan of Quraysh, was martyred on the day of the Battle of Ajnadayn.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Urwah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When I came into the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I said: O Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)! This woman (my wife) has told me that you have granted me protection. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You are granted protection." I said: I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, without any partner, and that you are the servant of Allah and His Messenger; and you are the most devoted of people to kinship, the most truthful of people, and the most faithful of people in keeping promises. Ikrimah says: I was saying these words with my head lowered out of shame before him (peace and blessings be upon him). Then I said: O Messenger of Allah! Pray for my forgiveness for every enmity I showed against you, and for every expedition in which I took part intending the dominance of polytheism. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated: "O Allah, forgive Ikrimah every enmity he showed against me, and every expedition in which he took part intending to turn people away from Your path." I said: O Messenger of Allah! Command me to do the best thing you know, so that I may act upon it. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Say: I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is His servant and Messenger; and strive in His path." Then Ikrimah said: O Messenger of Allah! By Allah, I will now spend in the path of Allah double whatever wealth I spent to turn people away from the path of Allah, and I will now show in the path of Allah double the effort I showed in the battles I fought in opposition to the religion of Allah. Then he strove hard in fighting until he was martyred at the Battle of Ajnadayn during the caliphate of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had appointed him, in the year of his Hajj, to collect the zakah of the tribe of Hawazin, and when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, Ikrimah was at that time at Tabalah (on that duty).

It is narrated from Habib bin Abi Thabit that Sayyiduna al-Harith bin Hisham, Sayyiduna Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl and Sayyiduna Ayyash bin Abi Rabi'ah (may Allah be pleased with them) were severely wounded on the day of Yarmuk. Al-Harith asked for water to drink, and he saw that Ikrimah was looking at him, so al-Harith said: Give this water to Ikrimah. Ikrimah saw that Ayyash bin Abi Rabi'ah was looking at him, so Ikrimah said: Give this water to Ayyash. So the water did not reach Ayyash or any one of them before they had all been martyred, without having even tasted it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl (may Allah be pleased with him) that on the day I came (into his blessed presence), the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: "Welcome, O emigrant rider! Welcome, O emigrant rider! Welcome, O emigrant rider!" I said: By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, whatever wealth I spent (to turn people away from the religion), I will certainly spend the like of it now in the path of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain of narration, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I saw in a dream as though Abu Jahl came to me and pledged allegiance to me." Then, when Khalid bin al-Walid (may Allah be pleased with him) accepted Islam, it was said to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): O Messenger of Allah, Allah has made your dream come true; this (dream) was Khalid's acceptance of Islam. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What is meant by it will be someone else (too)," until Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl accepted Islam, and that proved to be the fulfilment of his dream. This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I saw a cluster of dates for Abu Jahl in Paradise." Then, when Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl (may Allah be pleased with him) accepted Islam, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Umm Salamah! This is it (that cluster)." Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) relates that Ikrimah complained to him (peace and blessings be upon him) that whenever he passed through Madinah, it was said of him: "This is the son of the enemy of Allah, Abu Jahl." So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up to deliver a sermon and said: "People are like mines; those who were best of them in the Jahiliyyah are the best of them in Islam, provided they gain understanding of the religion. Do not hurt a Muslim on account of a disbeliever." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain of narration, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.