Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 3663
حَدَّثَنَا 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 " .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
It was narrated that Abu Darda’ heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: ‘The father is the middlemost of the gates of Paradise. So either neglect that gate or guard it.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The wording preserves the metaphor of the father as a gate of Paradise.
سَمِعَ النَّبِيَّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ يَقُولُ " الْوَالِدُ أَوْسَطُ أَبْوَابِ الْجَنَّةِ فَأَضِعْ ذَلِكَ الْبَابَ أَوِ احْفَظْهُ " .
The witness explains the ‘middle gate’ as the best way to Paradise, while the Arabic wording itself keeps the gate metaphor.
Should the explanatory gloss be represented separately from the translated metaphor?