If this report about him is authentic, then he is to be congratulated for it. There is no doubt that his famous narration about Heraclius (1) and the Prophet’s letter clearly attest to his faith—praise belongs to Allah.
He was ten years older than the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and lived twenty years after him. ʿUmar used to show him respect, for he was the senior figure of the Banū Umayyah. He was also the Prophet’s father-in-law. He did not die until he had seen his two sons, first Yazīd and then Muʿāwiyah, serving as governors over Damascus.
He loved leadership and public esteem, and during the caliphate of his cousin ʿUthmān he wielded considerable influence (2).
He died in Medina in 31 AH. Some said it was in 32, while others placed it in 33 or 34 AH, and he was about ninety years old.
14 – al-Ḥakam ibn Abī al-ʿĀṣ ibn Umayyah al-Umawī, Abū Marwān
A cousin of Abū Sufyān, known by the kunyah Abū Marwān. He was among those who embraced Islam at the Conquest of Mecca and possessed only the slightest share of Companionship.
(1) Reported by al-Bukhari, Sahih, 1/30 and 38, in the book “The Beginning of Revelation,” through the chain: Abu al-Yaman → al-Hakam b. Nafiʿ → Shuʿayb → al-Zuhri → ʿUbayd Allah b. ʿAbd Allah b. ʿUtbah b. Masʿud, from ʿAbd Allah b. ʿAbbas, who said that Abu Sufyan told him that Heraclius summoned him together with a delegation from Quraysh … It is a lengthy hadith, and in it Abu Sufyan states, “I never doubted that he ﷺ would one day prevail, until God caused me to embrace Islam.”
(2) Here sura means “rank” or “high station.” Al-Nabigha says: “Do you not see that God has granted you a sura / before which every other king wavers?” In the printed edition the word was mistakenly given as “sawla.”
(*) The report is also found in: Ibn Saʿd, Tabaqat, 5/447, 509; Ibn Maʿin, Tarikh, 124; Khalifa, Tabaqat, 197; Khalifa, Tarikh, 134; al-Bukhari, al-Tarikh al-Kabir, 2/331; Ibn Qutayba, al-Maʿarif, 194, 353, 576; Ibn Abi Hatim, al-Jarh wa-l-Taʿdil, 3/120; Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istijab, 1/358; Ibn al-Athir, Usd al-Ghaba, 2/37; al-Dhahabi, Tarikh al-Islam, 2/95, and al-ʿIbar, 1/32; Ibn Hajar, al-Isaba, 2/271; Ibn al-Imad, Shadharat al-Dhahab, 1/38.