1. The Creation of Adam and Eve
The first reference to woman in the Quran appears in connection with Adam and his wife, Eve. The relevant passage reads:
“We said, ‘O Adam! live with your wife in Paradise and eat freely from it anywhere you may wish. Yet do not approach this tree lest you become wrongdoers.’ But Satan caused them both to slip through this and thus brought about the loss of their former state. We said, ‘Go down from here as enemies to each other; and on earth you shall have your abode and your livelihood for a while!’ Then Adam received some words [of prayer] from his Lord and He accepted his repentance. He is the Forgiving One, the Merciful. We said, ‘Go down, all of you, from here: then when guidance comes to you from Me, anyone who follows My guidance will have no fear, nor will they grieve—those who deny and reject Our signs shall be the inhabitants of the Fire; therein shall they abide forever.’” (Quran, 2:35-39)
This account also appears elsewhere, for example, in Chapter al-A’raf (7:11-25). From these verses, it is clear that at the beginning of creation, God placed Adam and Eve in Paradise and allowed them to live there freely. However, by eating from the forbidden tree, they failed to prove themselves worthy of retaining Paradise as their birthright. As a result, human beings lost their automatic entitlement to Paradise.
After this, God decreed that Paradise would henceforth be granted to men and women only on a selective basis. Both were therefore sent down from Paradise to live on the present Earth. God said:
Live upon the earth and multiply your progeny. From time to time, messengers will come to you from Me, who will show you what is right and what is wrong according to divine standards. Those who pass this test will be admitted again to eternal Paradise, while those—men or women—who fail will be declared unworthy of it.
In this world, every man and woman faces the same divine test. This test will continue from generation to generation until the Day of Judgement. After that, all human beings will be divided into two groups on the basis of their deeds: the successful will enter eternal Paradise, while the unsuccessful will be cast into Hell for all eternity.
