The short answer
Sahih al-Bukhari 3257, graded sahih (authentic), says the gates of Jannah number eight. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, names one gate, Al-Rayyan, which only those who fast enter. That report does not name the other seven. Sahih al-Bukhari 1897, sahih by inclusion in Sahih al-Bukhari, links gates to prayer, striving, charity and fasting, but it gives no list of eight names.
How many gates of Jannah are mentioned?
Sahl ibn Sa'd, may Allah be pleased with him, reports that the Prophet said Paradise has eight gates, and that one of them, called Al-Rayyan, is entered only by those who fast. Sahih al-Bukhari 3257, graded sahih, establishes the number and that one name. It does not name the other seven.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3257
فِي الْجَنَّةِ ثَمَانِيَةُ أَبْوَابٍ، فِيهَا باب يُسَمَّى الرَّيَّانَ لاَ يَدْخُلُهُ إِلاَّ الصَّائِمُونَ
fī l-jannati thamāniyatu abwāb, fīhā bābun yusammā r-rayyāna lā yadkhuluhu illā ṣ-ṣāʾimūn
Paradise has eight gates, and among them is a gate called al-Rayyan; only the fasting enter it.
1AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 3257
What does the Quran say about the gates?
Al-Zumar 39:73 contains the Quranic wording of the greeting, salamun alaykum.
وَسِيقَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّقَوْا۟ رَبَّهُمْ إِلَى ٱلْجَنَّةِ زُمَرًا ۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا جَآءُوهَا وَفُتِحَتْ أَبْوَٰبُهَا وَقَالَ لَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا سَلَـٰمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ طِبْتُمْ فَٱدْخُلُوهَا خَـٰلِدِينَ
The verse does not give a number of gates. The count of eight comes from Sahih al-Bukhari 3257, graded sahih, not from this verse.
Which gates are named in the hadith?
Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, reports in Sahih al-Bukhari 1897, sahih by inclusion in Sahih al-Bukhari, that people associated with prayer, jihad (striving), charity and fasting are called from corresponding gates. The report names those groups. It does not give a list of eight gate names.
2AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 1897
Which gate is named for fasting?
Sahl, may Allah be pleased with him, reports in Sahih al-Bukhari 1896, sahih by inclusion in Sahih al-Bukhari, that Paradise has a gate called Al-Rayyan, through which those who fast enter on the Day of Resurrection and none except them, after which the gate is closed.
3AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 1896
Sahih al-Bukhari 1896 says who enters Al-Rayyan. Sahih al-Bukhari 3257, graded sahih, names the same gate in a report that also gives the count of eight, and says Al-Rayyan is one of the eight.
Are gates the same as levels of Jannah?
Are the eight gates the same as eight levels of Jannah? The reports describe different things. Sahih al-Bukhari 3257 speaks of eight gates through which people enter Paradise; Sahih al-Bukhari 2790 speaks of grades within Paradise. Neither report says that each gate corresponds to one level. This page therefore does not turn the eight gates into a list of eight ranks.
4AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 2790
The levels of Jannah guide keeps the evidence for grades apart from this gate count.
Can someone be called from more than one gate?
In Sahih al-Bukhari 1897, sahih by inclusion in Sahih al-Bukhari, the companion Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, asks whether anyone is called from all of the gates. The Prophet said yes, and that he hoped Abu Bakr would be one of them.
The answer "yes" says that some people are called from all the gates, without naming them. The hope is about one named companion. The report gives no way to work out a person's outcome from it. For your own situation, ask a scholar you trust.
I had seen a list of eight gate names shared with no source, and when I tried to find where it came from I only found a few reports. Learning that entrances and ranks are different things cleared up a lot of confusion for me. Now I only repeat what I can trace.
Try it: three questions
Pick an answer; each one explains itself.
1Which report gives the number eight?
Answer: Sahih al-Bukhari 3257. Sahih al-Bukhari 3257, graded sahih, says Paradise has eight gates. The verse gives no count, and Sahih al-Bukhari 1897, sahih by inclusion in Sahih al-Bukhari, gives no list of eight names. Source 1
2Which gate is named for those who fast?
Answer: Al-Rayyan. Sahih al-Bukhari 1896, 1897 and 3257 all name Al-Rayyan. Sahih al-Bukhari 1897 names other gates for prayer, jihad and charity. Source 3
3Does Sahih al-Bukhari 1897 give a list of eight gate names?
Answer: No. Sahih al-Bukhari 1897, sahih by inclusion in Sahih al-Bukhari, names the groups of people who are called from each gate. It does not give eight names. Source 2
Sources
Every claim above comes from one of these. Gradings are reported with the scholar's name; we do not grade hadith ourselves. Sahih al-Bukhari 1897 and 1896 were read on sunnah.com on 27 and 29 October 2026. No Arabic is shown for them, and dorar.net gradings were not used. Sahih al-Bukhari 3257 and Quran 39:73 were checked against their records.
- 1
Sahl ibn Sa'd reported that the Prophet said Paradise has eight gates, and one gate is called al-Rayyan, which only the fasting enter.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3257 Book 59, Hadith 67
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 2
Abu Hurayrah reported the Prophet saying that whoever gives two kinds of things in charity for Allah's cause will be called from the gates of Paradise: those who prayed from the gate of prayer, those who took part in jihad from the gate of jihad, those who fasted from the gate of Ar-Rayyan, and those who gave in charity from the gate of charity. Abu Bakr asked whether anyone is called from all these gates, and the Prophet replied yes, and that he hoped Abu Bakr would be one of them.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1897 Book 30, Hadith 7
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 3
Sahl reported the Prophet saying that there is a gate in Paradise called Ar-Rayyan, that those who fast will enter through it on the Day of Resurrection and none except them, that it will be asked where those who fasted are, that they will rise and enter, and that after their entry the gate will be closed and nobody will enter through it.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1896 Book 30, Hadith 6
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 4
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet said Paradise has a hundred degrees that Allah prepared for those who strive in His way (al-mujahidin), the distance between two degrees like that between the heaven and the earth; and to ask Allah for al-Firdaus, the awsat and the highest (a'la) of Paradise. A line introduced by 'I think' (urahu) adds that above it is the Throne of al-Rahman and from it the rivers of Paradise burst forth; Muhammad ibn Fulayh from his father gives 'and above it is the Throne of al-Rahman'.
Sahih al-Bukhari 2790 Book 56, Hadith 8
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- Q
Al-Zumar 39:73 contains the Quranic wording of the greeting, salamun alaykum.
Tanzil Project Uthmani text, CC BY 3.0. English: adapted from Marmaduke Pickthall's translation (1930), modernised and checked against modern translations. Record: quran-39-73, whose supports field covers the greeting only.
Next
- Levels of Jannah: what the sources reportMeaning explained
- Jannatul Firdaus: meaning and reported descriptionsMeaning explained
- The Day of JudgementMeaning explained
- The Unseen and the HereafterThe hub
For your own situation, ask a scholar you trust.
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