While he was at home in fear, al-As bin Waail al-Sahmi Abu Umar came to him wearing a striped Yemeni cloak and a shirt trimmed with silk. He was from Banu Sahm, who were our allies in the days of ignorance.He asked him, "What is the matter with you?"He replied, "Your people claim they will kill me because I have embraced Islam."Al-As said, "No one can harm you. Once I have spoken, you are safe."Al-As then went out and met the people, who had poured into the valley like a flood.He asked, "Where are you headed?"They said, "We are after this son of al-Khattab who has forsaken his religion."He said, "No one can touch him." So the people turned back.
بينما هو في الدار خائفا، إذ جاءه العاص بن وائل السهمي أبو عمرو عليه حلة حبرة، وقميص مكفوف بحرير، وهو من بني سهم، وهم حلفاؤنا في الجاهلية، فقال له: ما بالك؟ قال: زعم قومك أنهم سيقتلوني إن أسلمت. قال: لا سبيل إليك، بعد أن قالها أمنت، فخرج العاص فلقي الناس قد سال بهم الوادي، فقال: أين تريدون؟ فقالوا: نريد هذا ابن الخطاب الذي صبا، قال: لا سبيل إليه، فكر الناس.
Bukhari narrated it in Manaqib Ansar (3864) from Yahya bin Sulayman, who said, "Ibn Wahb narrated to me," who said, "Umar bin Muhammad narrated to me," who said, "My grandfather Zayd bin Abdullah bin Umar informed me, from his father, who said, 'While...'" and he then related the rest of the story. In another wording, "When Umar became Muslim, the people gathered at his house and said, 'Umar has turned away from his religion.' I was a boy on top of the roof of my house. Then a man wearing a cloak of silk brocade came and said, 'Umar has turned away, so what of it? I am his protector.'" He said, "Then I saw the people disperse away from him. I said, 'Who is this?' They said, 'Aas bin Waail.'"Bukhari narrated it in Manaqib Ansar (3865) from Ali bin Abdullah, [who said] Sufyan narrated to us, [who said] Amr bin Dinar said, "I heard him say, Abdullah bin Umar said, 'When Umar became Muslim...'" and he related it.Not sahih is what has been narrated from Umar bin Khattab, that he said, "I went out intending to confront the Messenger of Allah ﷺ before I became Muslim. I found that he had already gone ahead of me to the masjid, so I stood behind him, and he began reciting Surah Haqqah. I started to marvel at the composition of the Quran." He said, "I said, 'By Allah, this is a poet, just as Quraysh said.'" He said, "So he recited, "Indeed, it is the word of a noble Messenger, and it is not the word of a poet. Little do you believe" [Haqqah 69:40–41]." He said, "I said, 'A soothsayer.'" He said, "So he recited, "Nor is it the word of a soothsayer. Little do you take heed. It is a revelation from the Lord of the worlds. And if he had fabricated about Us some sayings, We would have seized him by the right hand, then We would have cut off his life artery, and there is not one of you who could withhold Us from him" [Haqqah 69:42–47], to the end of the surah." He said, "So Islam settled into my heart with full force."Ahmad narrated it (107) from Abu Mughira (whose name is Abdullah bin Hajjaj Khawlani), [who said] Safwan narrated to us, [who said] Shurayh bin Ubayd narrated to us, who said, "Umar bin Khattab said..." and he related it. Its chain of transmission is disconnected, because Shurayh bin Ubayd never met Umar, and Haythami faulted it for this reason in Majma al-Zawaid (9/62).Likewise, not sahih is what has been narrated from Ibn Abbas, who said, "I asked Umar about his conversion to Islam. He said, 'I went out three days after Hamza's conversion to Islam, and there was so-and-so bin so-and-so al-Makhzumi. I said to him, "Have you abandoned the religion of your forefathers and followed the religion of Muhammad?" He said, "If I have done so, then someone with a greater claim on you than I have has done the same." I said, "And who is that?" He said, "Your sister and your brother-in-law."So I set off and found the door locked, and I heard murmuring. Then the door was opened for me and I went in. I said, "What is this I hear from you?" They said, "You heard nothing." The exchange between us continued until I seized my brother-in-law by the head and struck him a blow that drew blood. My sister came at me and seized my head, saying, "That has happened despite you." When I saw the blood I felt ashamed, so I sat down and said, "Show me this writing." My sister said, "None may touch it except the purified. If you are telling the truth, get up and wash yourself." So I got up, washed, came back, and sat down. They brought out to me a sheet on which was written, "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful." I said, "These are pure, good names." Then it continued, "Ta-Ha. We have not sent down to you the Quran that you be distressed" [Taha 20:1–2], up to His saying, "His are the most beautiful names" [Taha 20:8]. This grew great in my chest, and I said, "Is this what Quraysh has fled from?" Then my chest opened to Islam, and I said, "Allah, there is no deity except Him, His are the most beautiful names" [Taha 20:8].'" He said, "There was then no soul on earth dearer to me than the Messenger of Allah ﷺ." I said, "Where is the Messenger of Allah?" She said, "You must give me the covenant and pledge of Allah that you will not harm him with anything he dislikes." I said, "Yes." She said, "He is in the house of Arqam bin Abu Arqam, a house near Safa." So I went to the house and became Muslim..." the hadith in full.Abu Naeem narrated it in Marifat Sahaba (6/3410) through the route of Muhammad bin Aban, from Ishaq bin Abdullah, from Abu Aban bin Salih, from Mujahid, from Ibn Abbas, and he related it. Ishaq bin Abdullah is Ibn Abu Farwa, who is an abandoned narrator.Ibn Hisham mentioned it in his Sira (1/343) from Ibn Ishaq, saying, "According to what has reached me," and through his route Abu Naeem narrated it (6/3412). Ibn Abdul-Barr mentioned, in Istiab, in the biographical entry of Fatimah bint Khattab, the story of Umar bin Khattab's conversion to Islam, and said, "A strange report." He mentioned it also in the biographical entry of Saeed bin Zayd, the husband of Fatimah bint Khattab, and said, "His conversion to Islam was early, before Umar's, and Umar's conversion took place at his house, since he was the husband of his sister Fatimah bint Khattab, and the report of the two of them in that regard is hasan." It thus appears that he relied on its fame, and did not find for it a chain of transmission he could depend on.Ibn Hajar mentioned the story of Umar's conversion to Islam in Isaba, in the biographical entry of Fatimah bint Khattab, from the Tarikh of Muhammad bin Uthman bin Abu Shayba, and through his route Abu Naeem in Marifat Sahaba (6/310), from the hadith of Ishaq bin Abdullah (who is Ibn Abu Farwa), and he quoted from Ibn Abdul-Barr his statement, "Her account of Umar's conversion to Islam is a strange account," and noted that he likewise did not find for it a sahih chain of transmission.I then came across another chain of transmission narrated by Ibn Saad in Tabaqat (3/267), and Daraqutni in his Sunan (441), through the route of Ishaq Azraq, [who said] Qasim bin Uthman Basri narrated to us, from Anas bin Malik, who said, "Umar went out girded with his sword..." and he related the story of his conversion to Islam. Qasim bin Uthman Basri was mentioned by Dhahabi in Mizan, who quoted from Bukhari that he said, "He has hadiths that are not corroborated." He then said, "Ishaq Azraq narrated from him a preserved text, and also the story of Umar's conversion to Islam, which is severely rejected."Bazzar narrated it in his Musnad (279), and Bayhaqi in Dalail (2/216), both from the hadith of Ishaq bin Ibrahim Huneini, from Usama bin Zayd bin Aslam, from his father, from his grandfather, from Umar, and he related the story of his conversion to Islam at length, except that he mentioned that on the sheet was written, "Whatever is in the heavens and earth exalts Allah, and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise" [Hadid 57:1]. Ishaq bin Ibrahim Huneini is daif by consensus of the scholars. Haythami faulted it in Kashf Astar (2493) because of Usama bin Zayd bin Aslam, saying, "He is daif."Bazzar said, "We do not know of anyone who narrated this hadith from Usama bin Zayd, from his father, from his grandfather, from Umar, except Ishaq bin Ibrahim Huneini, and we do not know of any chain of transmission narrated regarding the story of Umar's conversion to Islam better than this one, given that, as we have mentioned, Huneini left Madinah, after which he went blind and his hadith became confused." Bayhaqi said, "A strange story about Umar's conversion to Islam has been narrated with an unknown chain of transmission, which I have not included here, since the well-known hadiths are sufficient without it, and it is recorded in the Book of Virtues."In summary, the story of Umar's conversion to Islam became well known among the scholars, and Ibn Hibban mentioned it at length in Thiqat (1/72–74) without a chain of transmission. Because of its fame, Ibn Abdul-Barr graded it hasan in the second place, and Bayhaqi was content merely to cite it. Even though there is criticism in all of its chains of transmission, their totality indicates that it has a genuine basis, even though their wordings differ.