Ḥakīm ibn Ḥizām (Arabic: حكيم بن حزام) was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a nephew of Khadija. Born 13 years before the event of elephants (Aam-ul-Feel) in Mecca, Arabia, he was the son of Khadija's brother, Hizam ibn Khuwaylid, and Fakhita bint Zuhayr. Known for his acumen in commerce and his charitable acts, Hakim ibn Hizam was a respected merchant and a key figure in the Quraysh tribe. He embraced Islam during the conquest of Mecca and was known for his generosity, having manumitted a hundred slaves and distributed alms extensively. His close familial ties with Khadija and his contributions to the early Muslim community in Islamic history.
Family
He was the son of Khadija's brother, Hizam ibn Khuwaylid, and of Fakhita bint Zuhayr. Fakhita and Hizam had 10 children: Hakim (Fakhita took by her kunya Umm Hakim and Hizam took by his kunya Abu Hakim), Hizam, Hisham, Khalid, Abdullah, Yahya, Umm Hashim (Hashima), Umm Amr (Amira), Umm Sumaya (Sumaya), Umm Khawla (Khawla). The following year, when the Quraysh finalised their peace treaty with the Qays tribe, Hakim was one of forty hostages who were left with the Qays until the blood-money was delivered.
Hakim became a merchant who speculated in corn. He sat among the elders
His house was part of the same building as Khadija's; and his uncle Awwam ibn Khuwaylid lived next door. Hence, when Muhammad married Khadija, Hakim became his near neighbour.
Nevertheless, in September 622 (after Khadija's death and the Second pledge at al-Aqabah), Hakim was among the council of elders who plotted to assassinate Muhammad. On being pressed for information, he claimed that he had hated marching towards Badr; that it was all Satan’s fault;
Hakim's family then emigrated to Medina and settled there. This hadith is considered very important in the development of Islamic contract law as it deals with the issue of short selling, options or futures contracts.
He narrated Muhammad's teaching: "The seller and the buyer have the right to keep or return goods as long as they have not parted or till they part; and if both the parties spoke the truth and described the defects and qualities, then they would be blessed in their transaction, and if they told lies or hid something, then the blessings of their transaction would be lost."
On being asked, Muhammad told Hakim that all his good deeds performed before he became a Muslim remained credited to him afterwards. After his conversion, Hakim freed another hundred slaves and donated another hundred camels in alms.
Later life
In 656, when his cousin Zubayr ibn al-Awwam died leaving 2,200,000 (presumably dirhams) in debt, Hakim offered to relieve the family; however, it is not clear how much money he was offering them, as they did not accept anything.
When Marwan was appointed Governor of Medina in 662, Hakim was one of the welcoming party of elders who officially greeted him.