The Messenger of Allah ﷺ returned his daughter to Abu al-As with a new dowry and a new marriage contract. My father said in the narration of Hajjaj, "He returned his daughter Zaynab." He said, "This hadith is weak," or he said, "flimsy. Hajjaj did not hear it from Amr bin Shuayb. He only heard it from Muhammad bin Ubaydullah al-Arzami, and Arzami's hadith is worth nothing. The authentic hadith is the one which reports that the Prophet ﷺ confirmed them upon their original marriage."
حدثنا يزيد بن هارون أخبرنا الحجاج بن أرطاة
أن رسول الله ﷺ رد ابنته إلى أبي العاص بمهر جديد ونكاح جديد قال أبي في حديث حجاح رد زينب ابنته قال هذا حديث ضعيف أو قال واه ولم يسمعه الحجاج من عمرو بن شعيب إنما سمعه من محمد بن عبيد الله العرزمي والعرزمي لا يساوي حديثه شيئا والحديث الصحيح الذي روي أن النبي ﷺ أقرهما على النكاح الأول
Its chain of transmission is daif, based on what Imam Ahmad said in weakening it following his narration of it, and we will explain that in detail, Allah willing. Tirmidhi narrated it (2:195) via Abu Muawiya, Ibn Majah narrated it (2:317) also via Abu Muawiya, Daraqutni narrated it (p. 396) with three chains via Abu Muawiya, and Bayhaqi narrated it in Sunan al-Kubra (7:188) via Yazid bin Harun, both of them from Hajjaj bin Artah, with this chain, in similar wording. Ibn Saad narrated it in Tabaqat (8:21) from Abu Muawiya Darir and Yazid bin Harun, both of them from Hajjaj, with the same chain.Tirmidhi said, following his narration of it, "This is a hadith whose chain of transmission has been criticized." Daraqutni said, "This is not established, and Hajjaj cannot be relied upon." Bayhaqi said, "It has reached me from Abu Isa Tirmidhi that he said, 'I asked Bukhari about it, and he said, "The hadith of Ibn Abbas is more sahih on this subject than the hadith of Amr bin Shuayb."'" Abu Ubayd reported from Yahya bin Saeed Qattan that Hajjaj did not hear it from Amr, and that it is actually from the hadith of Muhammad bin Ubaydullah Arzami, from Amr.This is a claim that no one who understands hadith would pay any attention to. The hadith of Ibn Abbas that he is referring to is what has already been given in his Musnad at numbers 1876, 2366, and 2390, that the Prophet returned her to him under the original marriage.As for us, Hajjaj bin Artah is trustworthy, as we have concluded repeatedly, including in the commentary on hadith 6665. The issue lies only in the weakness of this particular hadith, which Imam Ahmad affirmed here, along with Yahya bin Saeed Qattan, as reported from him by Bayhaqi, namely that Hajjaj did not hear this hadith from Amr bin Shuayb, but rather heard it from Muhammad bin Ubaydullah Arzami, from Amr bin Shuayb, and so concealed the true source, omitting the name of the one he actually heard it from. Arzami is extremely daif, and his hadith is worth nothing, as Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said. We have explained his weakness in detail in the commentary on hadith 5626.As for the preferred view, the sounder narration is that of Ibn Abbas, whose numbers we mentioned above. The eminent scholar Ibn Qayyim examined this matter thoroughly and excellently, as is his habit, in Zad Mad (4:25–30). See also Nasb Raya (3:209–211), and Isabah (7:118–120, 8:91–92), in the biographical entries on Zaynab, daughter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and her husband Abu As bin Rabi.As for his statement "la yusawi" (is not worth), in one copy in the margin of manuscript M it appears as "la yaswa" instead, which is also a correct word. We have already established its correctness grammatically in the commentary on hadith 650.