She had been married to Ubaydullah bin Jahsh, who died in the land of Abyssinia. The Negus then married her to the Prophet ﷺ and gave her a dowry of four thousand on his behalf, sending her to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ with Shurahbil bin Hasanah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not send her anything himself, and the dowry of his wives was four hundred dirhams.Abu Dawud said, Hasanah was his mother.
أنها كانت تحت عبيد الله بن جحش فمات بأرض الحبشة فزوجها النجاشي النبي ﷺ، وأمهرها عنه أربعة آلاف، وبعث بها إلى رسول الله ﷺ مع شرحبيل بن حسنة. ولم يبعث إليها رسول الله ﷺ بشيء، وكان مهر نسائه أربعمائة درهم. قال أبو داود: حسنة هي أمه.
Abu Dawud (2107), Nasai (3350), Ahmad (27408), Hakim (2/181), and Bayhaqi (2327) all narrated it from the hadith of Mamar, from Zuhri, from Urwa, from Umm Habiba, and he related it. Hakim said, "Sahih according to the criteria of the two Shaykhs." Zuhri's narration was contradicted [by other transmitters], and this version is the most sahih, though it was also narrated from him as a mursal report.As for what was narrated from Abu Saeed Khudri, that the Prophet ﷺ married Ayesha for household goods worth fifty dirhams, this is daif. Ibn Majah (1890) narrated it from Abu Hisham Rafii Muhammad bin Yazid, who said, "Yahya bin Yaman narrated to us, saying, Aghar Raqashi narrated to us, from Atiya Awfi, from Abu Saeed," and he related it. Its chain is daif because of Atiya Awfi, who is Ibn Saeed bin Junada. Abu Zura, Abu Hatim, Nasai, and others declared him daif. I say, someone like him is not accepted when he narrates alone.As for what was narrated from Abu Hadrad Aslami, that he came to the Prophet ﷺ seeking his help with a woman's dowry, and the Prophet said, "How much did you give her as a dowry?" He said, "Two hundred dirhams." The Prophet said, "If you obtained it from Bathan, you would not have given more." This has a break in the chain. Imam Ahmad (15706), Tabarani in al-Kabir (22/352), Hakim (2/178), and from him Bayhaqi (7/235), all narrated it through various routes from Yahya bin Saeed, from Muhammad bin Ibrahim Taymi, from Abu Hadrad Aslami, and he related it.It has a break in the chain, for Muhammad bin Ibrahim Taymi did not hear from Abu Hadrad Aslami, as the scholars have stated. Indeed, Abu Hatim said, "He did not hear from Jabir (d. 70 AH), nor from Abu Saeed, nor from Ayesha. He narrated only one hadith from Anas, and he merely saw Ibn Umar." Alai mentioned those from whom he narrated in mursal form, and he did not mention Abu Hadrad among them.As for Haythami's statement in Majma (4/282), "Ahmad and Tabarani in al-Kabir and al-Awsat narrated it, and the men of Ahmad's narration are the men of sahih [narrations]," this is a judgment on the individual narrators, not on the chain itself, so take note, for many have been deceived by it.The meaning of the hadith is, if obtaining dirhams were as easy as scooping water with your hands, you still would not be entitled to increase dowries, so how much more so when you obtain dirhams through toil and hardship.