Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 9918

Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: We resolved to emigrate. I, Ayyash bin Abi Rabi'ah and Hisham bin al-As promised to gather at the "Mayda'ah" of Banu Ghifar, which was on a hillock. We agreed that whoever could not get there would be left behind, and the rest would go on. Hisham bin al-As could not come to us. When we reached our lodging at Quba' in the area of Banu Amr bin Awf in Madinah, Abu Jahl bin Hisham and al-Harith bin Hisham set out and came to Ayyash bin Abi Rabi'ah. These two were both the paternal cousins of Ayyash bin Abi Rabi'ah and his half-brothers through his mother. The two of them came to us in Madinah, spoke with Ayyash, and said to him: "Your mother has vowed that she will not comb her hair until she sees you." Ayyash's heart softened towards his mother. I said to him: "O Ayyash, by Allah, these people want to turn you back from your religion, so beware of them! By Allah, when lice trouble your mother, she will comb her hair herself, and when the heat of Makkah weighs heavily on her" (the narrator says: I think the narration has these words) "she will comb her hair too." Ayyash said: "My wealth is there; I will take it." I said: "By Allah, you know that I had the most wealth among Quraysh. Take half of my wealth, but do not go with these two." But he did not accept this and went with the two of them. When he did not accept what I said, I said to him: "Very well, do as you please, but take this she-camel of mine. She is an obedient she-camel; stay on her back, and if these people deceive you in any way, ride off on her." Then he went with the two of them, riding on that she-camel. At some point on the way, Abu Jahl bin Hisham said: "By Allah, this camel of mine is being sluggish. Will you let me ride on this she-camel of yours?" Ayyash said: "All right." He made the she-camel kneel so that Abu Jahl could move onto her. When they were down on the ground, the two of them attacked Ayyash, tied him up, and then took him to Makkah, and they put him to trial, and he succumbed to the trial. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says: We used to say: "By Allah, whoever succumbs to trial, Allah Almighty will not accept any obligatory or voluntary worship from him, nor will Allah Almighty accept the repentance of people who came to know Allah Almighty and then went back to disbelief because of some hardship that befell them." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says: People held this position based on their own opinion. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Madinah, Allah Almighty revealed this verse concerning those people, concerning our position and their own position about themselves: "O My servants who have wronged themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful." The verse continues up to: "while you do not perceive." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says: We wrote this verse down on a sheet and sent it to Hisham bin al-As. Hisham says: At the place called Dhu Tuwa I kept reading it over and over until I understood it. Then it came to my mind that it had been revealed about us, and about what we used to say about ourselves or what was said about us. So I went back, sat on my camel, and joined the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
Al-Bazzar recorded it, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).