Eve (Ḥawwāʾ) and the Expulsion (Ikhrāj) from Paradise in the BrillEncyclopaedia of the Qurʾān (Letter E): Human Origin and MoralTransition in Qurʾānic Thought

Abstract

The Qurʾānic narratives concerning Eve (Ḥawwāʾ) and the Expulsion (Ikhrāj) from
Paradise constitute a foundational discourse in Islamic anthropology, ethics, and
theology. This study examines these narratives within a unified conceptual
framework inspired by thematic entries of Brill Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān
(Letter E section), emphasizing their role in constructing a theory of human origin
as moral transition rather than metaphysical fall. The Qurʾān presents the
primordial human condition as grounded in a single soul (nafs wāḥidah), from
which a paired human existence emerges. Within this framework, Eve (Ḥawwāʾ)
is understood as a co-constitutive agent of human origin, while the Expulsion
(Ikhrāj) represents a structured movement from pre-moral existence to ethical
responsibility in temporal life. The study argues that Qurʾānic anthropology rejects
inherited guilt and instead establishes a model of shared moral agency, immediate
repentance, and continuous divine mercy. The narrative thus functions not as a
story of loss, but as an epistemic and ethical transition into human moral history.