حواء
Ḥawwāʾ
Person
Adam’s wife, who in the Quran shares Adam’s mistake and his repentance.
What it means
The Quran does not name her. It says God created people “from a single soul and created from it its mate” (4:1). In the story of the tree both Adam and his wife are tempted and both repent (7:19–23); in 20:121 the slip is Adam’s, and in 2:36 Satan caused both of them to slip. The Quran does not blame her alone.
Often misunderstood as
That Islam blames woman for the fall, or that she was made from a rib.
What the sources say
A hadith says that “woman was created from a rib, so treat women kindly” (Sahih al-Bukhari). Many scholars read it as a figure of speech about women’s nature, not an account of Eve’s creation, and as advice on kindness. The Quran’s own account says nothing of a rib.