Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 9920

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: We used to say: "The repentance of a person who has succumbed to trial will not be accepted, when he has abandoned his religion after accepting Islam and after coming to know it." Then Allah Almighty revealed these verses concerning those people: "O My servants who have wronged themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah." The verse continues up to: "before the punishment comes upon you suddenly while you do not perceive." The narrator says: I wrote this verse with my own hand and then sent it to Hisham bin al-As bin Wa'il. Hisham says: When this verse came to me, I began to read it, but I did not understand it. Then the thought came to my mind that this verse had been revealed about us and about what we used to say. So I sat on my camel and came to Madinah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was waiting to be given permission to emigrate. His companions from among the Muhajirun had already arrived in various groups. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) had asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for permission to emigrate, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had said: "Do not be hasty! Perhaps Allah Almighty will appoint a companion for you." Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) hoped that this companion would be the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) had prepared two mounts for the emigration, and he used to feed them fodder in his house.
Al-Tabarani recorded it; the chain of this narration contains a narrator, Abd al-Rahman bin Bashir al-Dimashqi, whom Abu Hatim declared da'if (weak).