Eve in Islam

Ḥawwā’
حواء
Eve
Islamic illustration of Hawwa sitting next to Adam in the Garden.
Personal life
SpouseʾĀdam
ChildrenQābīl and Hābīl, Sheth, ʿAnāq
Known for
  • First woman
  • Mother of humanity
Religious life
ReligionIslam

Eve (Arabic: حواء, romanizedḤawwā’), in Islamic theology, is believed to have been the first woman on Earth. Eve's role as the "mother of mankind" is looked upon by Muslims with reverence.

According to Islamic belief, Eve was created with Adam and brought to life by God. God placed Eve with Adam in a paradisical Garden. After Eve and Adam sinned by eating from the forbidden tree (Tree of Immortality) after God forbade her from doing so, paradise was declined to her and she was sent down to live on Earth. The Qiṣaṣ al-Anbiyāʾ (Arabic: قصص الأنبياء, lit.'Tales of the Prophets') adds that Adam and Ḥawwāʾ, when cast out of paradise, were cast down far apart and eventually met each other at Mount Arafat. Mankind would have learned planting, harvesting, baking, repenting from Eve and Adam.

The Quranic story of Eve is seen as both literal as well as an allegory for human relationship towards God. Islam does not necessarily adhere to young Earth creationism, and most Muslims believe that life on Earth predates Eve and Adam.