from ‘Uthman ibn ‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, from his father, with the same wording, but without the words: “And whoever fills ...” Al-Hakim said: “Authentic according to Muslim’s conditions.” Al-Dhahabi concurred with him, and al-Mundhiri (1/174) endorsed it.

Ibn ‘Ayyash was corroborated regarding the addition mentioned above. Al-Tabarani narrated in al-Awsat (1/32/2), through Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Qawwas: Muslim ibn Khalid al-Zanji narrated to us, from Ibn Abi Dhi’b, from Sa‘id al-Maqburi, from ‘Urwah, from ‘A’ishah, attributed to the Prophet, with the wording: “Whoever fills a gap in a row, Allah raises him one degree thereby and builds for him a house in Paradise.”

Al-Tabarani said: “No one narrated it from al-Maqburi except Ibn Abi Dhi’b, and no one narrated it from him except al-Zanji; al-Qawwas alone narrated it.”

I say: I was unable to identify him, but his teacher, al-Zanji, is weak, whereas those above him are trustworthy. However, al-Zanji was corroborated by Waki‘, as mentioned previously under no. 1892. Thus, the hadith is authentic—and praise be to Allah, by Whose favor righteous deeds are completed (1).

It also has a corroborating report from Abu Hurayrah, attributed to the Prophet, with the same wording, except that it states: “...and no servant joins a row except that Allah raises him one degree thereby, and the angels shower him with goodness.” Al-Tabarani also narrated it through Isma‘il ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn Khalid ibn Sa‘id ibn Abi Maryam, from his father, from his grandfather, from Ghanim ibn al-Ahwas, who heard Abu Salih al-Samman say: I heard Abu Hurayrah say—and he cited it in full, attributed to the Prophet. And he said: