(pp. 76–77), al-Baghawi in Sharh al-Sunnah (4/435/1178), and Ibn ‘Abd al-Hadi in Hidayat al-Insan (2/44/1), through ‘Asim ibn Abi al-Najud, from Zir, from ‘Abd Allah—some added: Ibn ‘Amr—attributed to the Prophet. Others narrated it as attributed to the Companion, but it carries the ruling of a report attributed to the Prophet. Al-Tirmidhi said: “A good, authentic hadith.” Al-Dhahabi said: “Authentic.” This apparently concurs with al-Hakim, though his explicit authentication has been omitted from al-Mustadrak. In my view, however, it is good, owing to the well-known difference of opinion concerning ‘Asim. Yet it is further strengthened by the supporting report transmitted by Firas, from ‘Atiyyah, from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, attributed to the Prophet, with the wording: “It will be said to the companion of the Quran, when he enters Paradise: ‘Recite and ascend.’ He will recite and ascend one rank with every verse, until he recites the last thing he has.” Ibn Majah (3825) and Ahmad (3/40) recorded it.

I say: ‘Atiyyah—al-‘Awfi—is weak, and al-Busiri deemed the report defective on his account in al-Zawa’id (227/2). But he overlooked the fact that ‘Atiyyah was not alone in transmitting it. Ibn Abi Shaybah (10/498/10104) said: Waki‘ narrated to us; he said: al-A‘mash narrated to us, from Abu Salih, from Abu Sa‘id or Abu Hurayrah—al-A‘mash was uncertain—who said: “It will be said to the companion of the Quran on the Day of Resurrection: ‘Recite and ascend, for your station is at the last verse you recite.’”

I say: This chain of transmission is authentic according to the criteria of al-Bukhari and Muslim. Al-A‘mash’s uncertainty as to whether it was Abu Sa‘id or Abu Hurayrah does not impair it, since both are Companions; nor does the fact that it stops at the Companion, for the reason mentioned above.

Note: Two men erred concerning this hadith. The first was al-Mundhiri, who attributed the hadith to al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, and Ibn Majah from Ibn ‘Amr, whereas Ibn Majah narrated it from Abu Sa‘id, as stated above. The other was Professor al-Da‘‘as, who attributed it, in his annotations to Sunan al-Tirmidhi (8/117)