Sunan Ibn Majah 3663
سنن ابن ماجه#3663Sahihحَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الصَّبَّاحِ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ بْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ، عَنْ عَطَاءٍ، عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، عَنْ أَبِي الدَّرْدَاءِ، سَمِعَ النَّبِيَّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ يَقُولُ " الْوَالِدُ أَوْسَطُ أَبْوَابِ الْجَنَّةِ فَأَضِعْ ذَلِكَ الْبَابَ أَوِ احْفَظْهُ " .
Abu Darda' heard the Prophet (ﷺ) say that:"The father is the middle door of Paradise (i.e. the best way to Paradise), so it is up to you whether you take advantage of it or not
Scholarly Authentication
The label above is the grade most of these scholars gave — one dissenting opinion no longer speaks for all of them. If any scholar calls a narration fabricated, that verdict is shown instead, whatever the others say. Each scholar's own wording:
Al-AlbaniSahih
Muhammad Fouad Abd al-BaqiSahih
Shuaib Al ArnautSahih
Zubair Ali ZaiHasan
In-book reference: 33:7