The bravery of Hisham bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) on the day of Ajnadayn and his martyrdom

Muhammad bin Umar narrates from his shaykhs that Sayyiduna Hisham bin al-As bin Wa'il bin Hashim bin Su'ayd bin Sahm (may Allah be pleased with him), whose mother was Harmalah bint Hisham bin al-Mughirah, was an early Muslim in Makkah, before his brother Amr bin al-As. He emigrated to the land of Abyssinia, and when news reached him of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) emigration to Madinah, he came back to Makkah in order to join him, but his father and his people detained him in Makkah, until he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in Madinah after the Battle of the Trench. After that he took part in all the battles. He was younger in age than his brother Amr bin al-As.

It is narrated from Khalid bin Ma'dan that when the Romans were defeated on the day of Ajnadayn, they reached a narrow place through which people could only pass one by one. The Romans began fighting there (turning back), while some had already passed through it. At that point Sayyiduna Hisham bin al-As bin Wa'il (may Allah be pleased with him) advanced and fought them at that spot until he was martyred. This happened at the beginning of the caliphate of Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), in the year 13 AH.

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.