—the eight gates of Paradise are confirmed by the authentic Sunnah from the Prophet ﷺ.

When the Prophet ﷺ related this ḥadīth, Abū Bakr said, “Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you! Anyone who is called from one of these gates will already be in ease; but is there someone who will be summoned from all of them?”—for at each gate stand angels calling, “So-and-so!” The Prophet replied, “Yes,” meaning that a person who is abundant in prayer, charity, and jihād may indeed be invited from every gate. Then he added, “Yes—and I hope you will be one of them.”

Abū Bakr, then, will be called from all eight gates, because he was foremost in every good deed; no avenue of virtue existed but that he had a share in it. On one occasion the Prophet ﷺ urged the Companions to give in charity. ʿUmar—who loved to outstrip Abū Bakr, not out of envy but out of eagerness for virtue—brought half of his wealth. When he arrived, he found that Abū Bakr had come with all of his wealth. The Prophet asked Abū Bakr, “What have you left for your family?” He replied, “I have left them Allah and His Messenger.” At that ʿUmar said, “By Allah, I shall never try to surpass him again,” for Abū Bakr was the quickest of the Companions to every good, the strongest in faith, and the firmest in believing Allah and His Messenger.

The author then cited other aḥādīth, all dealing with fasting. The last of them is the statement reported by Abū Hurayrah: “Whoever fasts out of faith and seeking reward will have his past sins forgiven.” That is, if a person fasts believing in Allah and anticipating His recompense, Allah Almighty will forgive all his previous sins.