Ridwan, Keeper of Paradise

Ridwan is the name that came in hadith for the angel who is the keeper of Paradise, as narrated by Ibn Hibban and al-Hakim in his Mustadrak and others. In hadith it is mentioned that the people of Paradise circumambulate him, and that God said to him "you are pleased, so I have pleased you," and for this he was named Ridwan ^{1 2}. The degree of these narrations was disputed among the hadith scholars.

• The Qur'an does not name the keeper of Paradise by name; rather it mentions Paradise, its people and its descriptions in many surahs, and mentions "al-Ridwan" in another place with the meaning of divine pleasure itself: {"except those who followed you among them... and al-Ridwan"} — and the difference between the keeper of Paradise named Ridwan and the meaning of pleasure in the language was settled by the exegetes ^{3 4}.
• At-Tawba 72, At-Tawba 100, and Al-Bayina 8 in the description of the people of Paradise and God's pleasure in them.

• Ibn Hibban narrated in his Sahih and al-Hakim in his Mustadrak: "The keeper of Paradise is Ridwan; the people of Paradise circumambulate him. God said to him: you are pleased, so I have pleased you, and for this he was named Ridwan" — and al-Hakim commented on its chain ^{1 2}.
• In a narration in al-Tirmidhi in the chapter "what came concerning the keeper of Paradise" that he has his companions who circumambulate him ⁵.
• Al-Bayhaqi output a like of it in Sha'b al-Iman ².
• Some hadith scholars strengthened it by gathering its paths in their books on weak and fabricated hadiths ^{6 7}.

• "Ridwan" in the language is the verbal noun of "radiya", meaning pleasure, and "al-Ridwan" in the Qur'an is the great divine pleasure ⁸.
• And the keeper was named that because God said to him "you are pleased, so I have pleased you" in the hadith narration, or because he is the keeper of the abode of pleasure ⁴.

• Ibn Kathir mentions that the keeper of Paradise in the narrated hadith is Ridwan, and that the Qur'an did not name him ⁴.
• Among the hadith scholars there was disagreement over the degree of the narration "Ridwan is the keeper of Paradise": some of them declared it good by gathering its paths, and some weakened it because some of its paths are interrupted; and the principle is that the name is established in the transmitted reports ^{6 9 7}.

• The keeper of Paradise is not known in the Qur'an by name, unlike the keeper of the Fire whom hadith named Malik; and the difference between the two narrations in degree among the hadith scholars.
• His counterpart on the other side is Malik, the keeper of the Fire, on Malik's page.
• The divine "al-Ridwan" and the narrated name may be of one origin in Arabic: the abode of pleasure and the name of its keeper ⁸.