View source for Tomb of Eve

{{short description|Archeological site in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia}}
[[File:Eves-tomb-pelerinage-a-la-mecque-et-a-medina.png|thumb|upright|The tomb of Eve in 1894, during the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] period]]
The '''Tomb of Eve''', also known as '''Eve's Grave''' and '''Eve's Tomb''', is an [[archeological]] site located in [[Jeddah]], [[Saudi Arabia]].<ref>{{Citation | last1 = Jayussi | first1 = Salma | first2 = Manṣūr Ibrāhīm | last2 = Ḥāzimī | first3 = ʻIzzat ibn ʻAbd al-Majīd | last3 = Khaṭṭāb | title = Beyond the Dunes | publisher = IB Tauris & Co | date = 28 April 2006 | isbn = 978-1-85043-972-1 | page = 34 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0aEnJNBD-QAC&pg=PR13}}</ref>  It is considered by some [[Muslim|Muslims]] to be the burial place of [[Eve]]. [[Faisal of Saudi Arabia|Prince Faisal]], Viceroy of [[Hejaz]], [[Destruction of early Islamic heritage sites in Saudi Arabia|destroyed]] it in 1928.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Arabia: Tomb of Eve|magazine=Time|date=February 27, 1928|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,846731,00.html}}</ref> In 1975, the site was also sealed with [[concrete]] by religious authorities, who disapprove of pilgrims praying at tombs.<ref>{{Citation | date = March 13, 2013 | title = Grandmother Eve — buried in Saudi Arabia? | url = http://samslifeinjeddah.wordpress.com/2013/03/13/grandmother-eve-buried-in-jeddah/ | work = Sam's Life| access-date = 24 August 2014}}</ref>

[[Richard Francis Burton]] mentions seeing it in his translation of the ''[[One Thousand and One Nights|Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night]]''.<ref>{{Citation | last = Burton | first = Richard Francis | title = The Book of One Thousand Nights and A Night | date = April 2009 | page = 358 | publisher = BiblioBazaar | isbn = 9780559091179 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=e8j_Mh7ejtoC&pg=PA358}}.</ref>

According to the Islamic religion, Eve is considered the grandmother of humanity{{Quran ref|p=84|chapter=7|vf=11|vt=25}}{{Quran ref|p=84|chapter=20|vf=110|vt=124}}, which influenced the name "Jeddah" meaning grandmother in Arabic.<ref>Etymology of "jeddah", ''Wiktionary'' [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D8%AC%D8%AF%D8%A9#Etymology_1]</ref>

==Mentions==
Angelo Pesce mentions the site in his book on Jeddah<ref>{{Citation | first = Angelo | last = Pesce | title = Jiddah: Portrait of an Arabian city | publisher = Falcon Press | year = 1974 | pages = 126–30}}.</ref> and the earliest documented reference to the tomb:

{{Quote | In [[Abū Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdānī|Hamdani]] (10th century) who states 'It has been related that Adam was in Mine when he felt a yearning to see Eve... that Eve had come from Juddah, and that he knew her on Arafat. The first one to speak of Eve's tomb as being in Jeddah is [[Muhammad al-Idrisi|Idrisi]] (mid-12th century). However, [[Ibn Jubayr]] (late 12th century), writing from direct experience (unlike Idrisi, he went to Jeddah for the pilgrimage) state that in Jeddah 'is a place having an ancient and lofty dome, which is said to have been the lodging place of Eve . . . when on her way to Mecca... [[Ibn al-Mujawir]] (13th century) makes a clear reference to the Tomb of Eve in Jeddah, and so does [[Ibn Khallikan]] (13th century).<ref>{{Citation | first = Wafayat al-ayan wa anba abna (وفيات الأعيان وأنباء أبناء الزمان) | last = Az-zaman | type = biography | title = Ibn Qalaqis | editor-first = F | editor-last = Wüstenfeld | place = Göttingen | year = 1835–1842 | at = table II, p. 69, n. 772}} (quoted by {{Citation | last = NALLINO | first = CA | title = L'Arabia Saudiana | editor-first = M | editor-last = Nallino | place = Rome | year = 1939 | page = 178 | language = it |trans-title=The Saudi Arabia}}.</ref> [[Ibn Battutah]] (14th century) ignores the matter altogether. Historians like [[Tabari]], [[Masudi]], and others state that, according to tradition, Eve is buried in Jeddah, but fail to give any detail of her tomb.}}

British Acting Consul S. R. Jordan, writing in early 1926, describes the tomb as follows:<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100084998361.0x0000a5 | title=File 1707/1924 'Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)' &#91;280r&#93; (564/898) | date=June 2018 }}</ref>

{{Quote | It may not be generally known that here is the Tomb of Eve, “ the mother of the world.” The grave is some 200 yards long and some 4 yards wide and has in the middle a small mosque, where formerly, on payment of a few piastres baksheish, the keeper of the edifice would lift a flagstone from the centre of the floor to allow sceptical Christians and pious Moslems an opportunity of admiring the lady’s navel. This tomb, until orders were issued to the contrary, used to be the favourite resort of childless wives and
languishing maidens, but now has been closed under royal irade and anybody frequenting the place is punished.}}

==Dimensions==
[[File:Eves-tomb-personal-narrative-of-a-pilgrimage-to-el-medinah-and-mecca.png|thumb|Plan of tomb of Eve by Sir Richard Francis Burton]]
[[E. F. Gautier|Émile-Félix Gautier]] estimates the length of the tomb to about 130 m.<ref>{{Citation | title = Moeurs et coutumes des Musulmans |trans-title=Uses & costumes of the Muslims | place = Paris | year = 1931 | page = 66 | language = fr}}.</ref>

The publicist [[Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah]] mentions about the dimensions:

{{Quote | Eve must have been a lady of formidable proportions, for the original grave, I was told, was some eight feet long. It was as well, therefore, that she had not survived to welcome us in the flesh, for although it is rumored that we Muslims have an eye for ladies of heroic proportion we draw the line at the titanic. But I was told that the grave had mysteriously extended itself by the time I arrived to its present gigantic proportions.<ref>{{Citation | title = Westward to Mecca | place = London | year = 1928 | page = 216}}.</ref>}}

[[Awn ar-Rafiq|Aun Ar-Rafiq]] ([[Hijaz|Amir in Hijaz]] 1882–1905) tried to demolish the tomb, but that caused a public outcry. He then said: "But think you that 'our mother' was so tall? If the stupidity is international, let the tomb stand".<ref>{{Citation | last = Rihani | first = Ameen | author-link = Ameen Rihani | title = Around the coasts of Arabia | place = London | year = 1930 | page = 74}}.</ref>
However, this is not really surprising as a Hadith 3326 from Sahih al-Bukhari (known as the most authentic collection of hadith) narrated by Abu Hurairah states that Adam was created 60 cubits tall (about 30 meters), and that people in Paradise will look like Adam.<ref>https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3326</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Eves-tomb-mar-at-al-haramein.png|The tomb of Eve in 1903
Eves-tomb-the-story-of-a-pilgrimage-to-hijaz.png|The tomb of Eve in 1913
Eves-tomb-heart-of-arabia.png|The tomb of Eve in 1922
File:Cemetery of Eve, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (50703480686).jpg|Cemetery of Eve, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in 2020
</gallery>

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin}}
* Lawrence, T.E. (1921).  ''Seven Pillars of Wisdom.''  Chapter VIII.
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/in-unmarked-saudi-tomb-lies-grandmother-of-everyone In unmarked Saudi tomb lies 'grandmother of everyone']
* [http://www.scta.gov.sa/en/Antiquities-Museums/InternationallyRegisteredSites/Pages/OldJeddah.aspx 'Historic Jeddah' on Saudi Commission on Tourism & Activities]
* [https://archive.today/20130204135450/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,846731,00.html Time Magazine on Tomb of Eve, Jeddah]
* [https://archive.today/20130131172158/http://www.pressherald.com/archive/pilgrims-search-for-biblical-eve_2008-09-12.html Press Herald: Pilgrims search for biblical Eve]
* [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/303816/Jiddah Encyclopædia Britannica mention Tomb of Eve in Jeddah article]

{{Adam and Eve}}

{{Coord|21.4919|39.1903|format=dms|type:landmark_region:SA|display=title}}

[[Category:Adam and Eve]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Jeddah]]
[[Category:History of Jeddah]]
[[Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Saudi Arabia]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Saudi Arabia]]
[[Category:Tombs of biblical people|Eve]]
[[Category:Sunni cemeteries]]
[[Category:Women and death]]
[[Category:Islamic shrines in Saudi Arabia]]
[[Category:Tombs in Saudi Arabia]]