Caution: Translations of Quran and Ḥadīth may lead to possible misapplications and misinterpretations. This site is intended for students of sacred knowledge that are proficient in comprehending classical Arabic and have a strong foundation in Islamic sciences. Also note that religious injunctions rely on several aspects beyond what one may glean through reading individual aḥādīth.
nasai:933Isḥāq b. Ibrāhīm > Sufyān > Hishām b. ʿUrwah from his father > ʿĀʾishah

"Al-Harith bin Hisham asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: 'How does the Revelation come to you?' He said: 'Like the ringing of a bell, and when it departs I remember what he (the Angel) said, and this is the hardest on me. And sometimes he (the Angel) comes to me in the form of a man and gives it to me.'"  

النسائي:٩٣٣أَخْبَرَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ قَالَ أَنْبَأَنَا سُفْيَانُ عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ قَالَتْ

سَأَلَ الْحَارِثُ بْنُ هِشَامٍ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ كَيْفَ يَأْتِيكَ الْوَحْىُ قَالَ فِي مِثْلِ صَلْصَلَةِ الْجَرَسِ فَيَفْصِمُ عَنِّي وَقَدْ وَعَيْتُ وَهُوَ أَشَدُّهُ عَلَىَّ وَأَحْيَانًا يَأْتِينِي فِي مِثْلِ صُورَةِ الْفَتَى فَيَنْبِذُهُ إِلَىَّ  


See similar narrations below:

Collected by Bukhārī, Muslim, Aḥmad, Ibn Ḥibbān, Ṭabarānī, Nasāʾī's Kubrá, Suyūṭī
bukhari:3215Farwah > ʿAlī b. Mushir > Hishām b. ʿUrwah from his father > ʿĀʾishah

Al Harith bin Hisham asked the Prophet, "How does the divine inspiration come to you?" He replied, "In all these ways: The Angel sometimes comes to me with a voice which resembles the sound of a ringing bell, and when this state abandons me, I remember what the Angel has said, and this type of Divine Inspiration is the hardest on me; and sometimes the Angel comes to me in the shape of a man and talks to me, and I understand and remember what he says."  

البخاري:٣٢١٥حَدَّثَنَا فَرْوَةُ حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُسْهِرٍ عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ ؓ

أَنَّ الْحَارِثَ بْنَ هِشَامٍ سَأَلَ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ كَيْفَ يَأْتِيكَ الْوَحْىُ قَالَ كُلُّ ذَاكَ يَأْتِي الْمَلَكُ أَحْيَانًا فِي مِثْلِ صَلْصَلَةِ الْجَرَسِ فَيَفْصِمُ عَنِّي وَقَدْ وَعَيْتُ مَا قَالَ وَهْوَ أَشَدُّهُ عَلَىَّ وَيَتَمَثَّلُ لِي الْمَلَكُ أَحْيَانًا رَجُلاً فَيُكَلِّمُنِي فَأَعِي مَا يَقُولُ  

muslim:2333b[Chain 1] Abū Bakr b. Abū Shaybah > Sufyān b. ʿUyaynah [Chain 2] Abū Kurayb > Abū Usāmah And Ibn Bishr > Hishām [Chain 3] Muḥammad b. ʿAbdullāh b. Numayr > Muḥammad b. Bishr > Hishām from his father > ʿĀʾishah

How does the the wahi (inspiration) come to you? He said: At times it comes to me like the ringing of a bell and that is most severe for me and when it is over I retain that (what I had received in the form of wahi), and at times an Angel in the form of a human being comes to me (and speaks) and I retain whatever he speaks.  

مسلم:٢٣٣٣bحَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ بْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ ح وَحَدَّثَنَا أَبُو كُرَيْبٍ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو أُسَامَةَ وَابْنُ بِشْرٍ جَمِيعًا عَنْ هِشَامٍ ح وَحَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ نُمَيْرٍ وَاللَّفْظُ لَهُ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بِشْرٍ حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامٌ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ

أَنَّ الْحَارِثَ بْنَ هِشَامٍ سَأَلَ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ كَيْفَ يَأْتِيكَ الْوَحْىُ فَقَالَ أَحْيَانًا يَأْتِينِي فِي مِثْلِ صَلْصَلَةِ الْجَرَسِ وَهُوَ أَشَدُّهُ عَلَىَّ ثُمَّ يَفْصِمُ عَنِّي وَقَدْ وَعَيْتُهُ وَأَحْيَانًا مَلَكٌ فِي مِثْلِ صُورَةِ الرَّجُلِ فَأَعِي مَا يَقُولُ  

ahmad:25252Muḥammad b. Bishr > Hishām b. ʿUrwah from his father > ʿĀʾishah

How does the the wahi (inspiration) come to you? He said: At times it comes to me like the ringing of a bell and that is most severe for me and when it is over I retain that (what I had received in the form of wahi), and at times an Angel in the form of a human being comes to me (and speaks) and I retain whatever he speaks. (Using translation from Muslim 2333b)  

أحمد:٢٥٢٥٢حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بِشْرٍ حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامُ بْنُ عُرْوَةَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ

أَنَّ الْحَارِثَ بْنَ هِشَامٍ سَأَلَ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ كَيْفَ يَأْتِيكَ الْوَحْيُ؟ قَالَ أَحْيَانًا يَأْتِينِي فِي مِثْلِ صَلْصَلَةِ الْجَرَسِ وَهُوَ أَشَدُّهُ عَلَيَّ ثُمَّ يُفْصَمُ عَنِّي وَقَدْ وَعَيْتُ وَأَحْيَانًا يَأْتِينِي مَلَكٌ فِي مِثْلِ صُورَةِ الرَّجُلِ فَأَعِي مَا يَقُولُ  

ذِكْرُ وَصْفِ نُزُولِ الْوَحْيِ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ

ibnhibban:38ʿUmar b. Saʿīd b. Sinān > Aḥmad b. Abū Bakr > Mālik > Hishām b. ʿUrwah from his father > ʿĀʾishah

Al-Harith bin Hisham asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: 'How does the Revelation come to you?' He said: 'Like the ringing of a bell, and this is the hardest on me. When it departs I remember what he said. And sometimes the Angel appears to me in the form of a man and speaks to me, and I remember what he said." Aishah said: "I saw him when the Revelation came to him on a very cold day, and his forhead was dripping with sweat." (Using translation from Nasāʾī 934)   

ابن حبّان:٣٨أَخْبَرَنَا عُمَرُ بْنُ سَعِيدِ بْنِ سِنَانٍ أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ أَبِي بَكْرٍ عَنْ مَالِكٍ عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ

أَنَّ الْحَارِثَ بْنَ هِشَامٍ سَأَلَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ كَيْفَ يَأْتِيكَ الْوَحْيُ؟ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ «أَحْيَانًا يَأْتِينِي فِي مِثْلِ صَلْصَلَةِ الْجَرَسِ وَهُوَ أَشَدُّهُ عَلَيَّ فَيَنْفَصِمُ عَنِّي وَقَدْ وَعَيْتُ مَا قَالَ وَأَحْيَانًا يَتَمَثَّلُ لِيَ الْمَلَكُ رَجُلًا فَيُكَلِّمُنِي فَأَعِي مَا يَقُولُ»  

tabarani:3346Muḥammad b. ʿAbdullāh al-Ḥaḍramī > al-Ḥusayn b. Yazīd al-Ṭaḥḥān > ʿAbdah b. Sulaymān > Hishām b. ʿUrwah from his father > ʿĀʾishah

[Machine] Al-Harith ibn Hisham asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ how revelation comes to him. He said, "Sometimes it comes to me like the ringing of a bell, and it becomes faint to me even though I comprehend it. Other times, it comes to me in the form of an angel appearing as a man, and I understand what he says."  

الطبراني:٣٣٤٦حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللهِ الْحَضْرَمِيُّ ثنا الْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ يَزِيدَ الطَّحَّانُ ثنا عَبْدَةُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ قَالَتْ

سَأَلَ الْحَارِثُ بْنُ هِشَامٍ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ كَيْفَ يَأْتِيهِ الْوَحْيُ قَالَ «يَأْتِينِي أَحْيَانًا مِثْلَ صَلْصَلَةِ الْجَرَسِ فَيَفْصِمُ عَنِّي وَقَدْ وَعَيْتُهُ وَهُوَ أَشَدُّ عَلَيَّ وَيَأْتِينِي أَحْيَانًا الْمَلَكُ فِي صُورَةِ الرَّجُلِ فَأَعِي مَا يَقُولُ»  

nasai-kubra:1007Isḥāq b. Ibrāhīm > Sufyān > Hishām b. ʿUrwah from his father > ʿĀʾishah

"Al-Harith bin Hisham asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: 'How does the Revelation come to you?' He said: 'Like the ringing of a bell, and when it departs I remember what he (the Angel) said, and this is the hardest on me. And sometimes he (the Angel) comes to me in the form of a man and gives it to me.'" (Using translation from Nasāʾī 933)  

الكبرى للنسائي:١٠٠٧أَخْبَرَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ قَالَ أَخْبَرَنَا سُفْيَانُ عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ قَالَتْ

سَأَلَ الْحَارِثُ بْنُ هِشَامٍ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ كَيْفَ يَأْتِيكَ الْوَحْيُ؟ قَالَ فِي مِثْلِ صَلْصَلَةِ الْجَرَسِ فَيَفْصِمُ عَنِّي وَقَدْ وَعِيتُ عَنْهُ مَا قَالَ وَهُوَ أَشَدُّهُ عَلَيَّ وَأَحْيَانًا يَأْتِينِي فِي مِثْلِ صُورَةِ الْفَتَى فَيَنْبِذُهُ إِلَيَّ  

nasai-kubra:7925Isḥāq b. Ibrāhīm > Sufyān > Hishām b. ʿUrwah from his father > ʿĀʾishah

"Al-Harith bin Hisham asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: 'How does the Revelation come to you?' He said: 'Like the ringing of a bell, and when it departs I remember what he (the Angel) said, and this is the hardest on me. And sometimes he (the Angel) comes to me in the form of a man and gives it to me.'" (Using translation from Nasāʾī 933)  

الكبرى للنسائي:٧٩٢٥أَخْبَرَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ قَالَ أَخْبَرَنَا سُفْيَانُ عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ قَالَتْ

سَأَلَ الْحَارِثُ بْنُ هِشَامٍ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ كَيْفَ يَأْتِيكَ الْوَحْيُ؟ قَالَ «فِي مِثْلِ صَلْصَلَةِ الْجَرَسِ فَيُفْصَمُ عَنِّي وَقَدْ وَعَيْتُ عَنْهُ وَهُو أَشَدُّهُ عَلَيَّ وَأَحْيَانًا يَأْتِينِي فِي مِثْلِ صُورَةِ الْفَتَى فَيَنْبِذُهُ إِلَيَّ»  

suyuti:230-3bHishām b. ʿUrwah from his father > al-Ḥārith b. Hishām
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السيوطي:٢٣٠-٣b

"عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنِ الْحَارِثِ بْنِ هِشَامٍ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ

رَسُولَ الله ﷺ كَيْفَ يَأتِيكَ الْوَحْىُ؟ فَقَالَ: أَحْيَانًا يَأتِينِى فِى مِثْلِ صَلْصَلِ الْجَرَسِ فَيَفْصِمُ عَنِّى وَقَدْ وَعَيْتُ مَا قَالَ، وَهُوَ أَشَدُّهُ عَلَىَّ، وَأَحْيَانًا يَأتِينِى الْمَلَكُ فَيَتَمَثَّلُ لِىَ رَجُلًا فَيُكَلِّمُنِى، وَأَعِى مَا يَقُولُ".  

أبو نعيم