The First People to Enter Paradise

The very first of mankind to enter Paradise will be our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. As for the first nation to be admitted into Paradise, it will be his Ummah (nation). From among this Ummah, the very first to enter will be Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (رضي الله عنه).

Evidence from the Sunnah

Imam Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله mentioned several authentic narrations in an-Nihāyah fī al-Fitan wal-Malāhim (2/213) affirming this.

1. The Prophet ﷺ will be the first to enter Paradise
   Muslim reports from Anas ibn Mālik (رضي الله عنه) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

   “I will be the first one to knock at the gates of Paradise.”
   (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 197)

   In another narration, also in Muslim, the Prophet ﷺ said:

   “I will come to the gates of Paradise and ask for it to be opened. The gatekeeper will ask, ‘Who are you?’ I will reply, ‘Muhammad.’ He will say, ‘I was commanded not to open the gate for anyone before you.’”
   (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 332)

2. His Ummah will be the first nation to enter Paradise
   Al-Bukhārī, Muslim, and al-Nasā’ī narrate from Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) that the Prophet ﷺ said:

   “We are the last (in this world) but we will be the foremost on the Day of Resurrection. We will be the first of mankind to enter Paradise.”
   (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 876, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 855)

3. Abu Bakr will be the first of this Ummah to enter Paradise
   Abū Dāwūd narrates from Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) that the Prophet ﷺ said:

   “Jibrīl came to me and showed me the gate of Paradise through which my Ummah will enter.”
   Abū Bakr (رضي الله عنه) said, “O Messenger of Allah, if only I had been with you to see it!” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied:
   “But you, O Abū Bakr, will be the first of my Ummah to enter Paradise.”
   (Sunan Abī Dāwūd 4652, graded ḥasan by al-Albānī)

Additional Supporting Reports

• ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (رضي الله عنه) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said:

  “I will be the first one for whom the earth will be split open (from the grave), and I will be the first to intercede, and the first whose intercession will be accepted.”
  (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2278)

• The poor believers will enter Paradise before the wealthy. The Prophet ﷺ said:

  “The poor of my Ummah will enter Paradise before the rich by half a day, and that is five hundred years.”
  (al-Tirmidhī 2352, Ibn Mājah 4122, authenticated by al-Albānī)