Concerning the report that is attributed to Ibn ʿAbbās, its chain is interrupted and its wording is objectionable, even though some later scholars considered it preferable. Yet the earlier contexts point to the opposite view, and it is supported by the ḥadīth, “and He made His angels prostrate to him,” which is likewise unrestricted in scope. Allah knows best.

The Almighty said to Iblīs, “So descend from it” [al-Aʿrāf 13] and, “Get out of it” [al-Aʿrāf 18], which proves that he had been in heaven. He was ordered to come down from it and to forfeit the rank and station he had gained through his worship and his imitation of the angels in obedience and devotion. That honor was stripped from him because of his arrogance, envy, and rebellion against his Lord, and he was cast down to the earth, despised (1) and banished (2).

Allah then commanded Adam—peace be upon him—to dwell, he and his wife, in Paradise. He said: “And We said, ‘O Adam, dwell you and your wife in the Garden and eat freely of it wherever you will; but do not approach this tree, lest you both become of the wrongdoers.’” [al-Baqarah 35]

He likewise said in Sūrat al-Aʿrāf: “He said, ‘Depart from it, disgraced and expelled; and whoever of them follows you, I will surely fill Hell with you all. And O Adam, dwell you and your wife in the Garden and eat from wherever you both wish, but do not approach this tree lest you both become of the wrongdoers.’” [al-Aʿrāf 18–19]

And He, exalted is He, said: “When We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam,’ they all prostrated except Iblīs; he refused. So We said, ‘O Adam, this is indeed an enemy to you and to your wife. Let him not drive you both out of the Garden so that you would suffer. Surely in it you will neither hunger nor go naked, and you will not thirst therein nor be exposed to the sun’s heat.’” [Ṭāhā 116-119]

The flow of these verses shows that Eve was created before Adam entered the Garden, as may be seen from His words: “O Adam, dwell you and your wife in the Garden” (3) [al-Baqarah 35]. Isḥāq ibn Yasār stated this explicitly, and it is the apparent meaning of the verses.

Al-Suddi, however, narrated—from Abū Ṣāliḥ and Abū Mālik on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, and from Murrah on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, and from a number of the Companions—that they said: Iblīs was expelled from Paradise, and Adam was made to live there. He walked about it alone, having no spouse in whom to find repose. He fell asleep, and when he awoke a woman was sitting near his head; Allah had created her from his rib. He asked her, “Who are you?” She replied, “A woman.” He asked, “Why were you created?” She said, “So that you may find tranquility in me.” The angels, wishing to see the extent of his knowledge, said, “What is her name, O Adam?” He said, “Ḥawwāʾ (Eve).” They said, “Why is she called Ḥawwāʾ?” He replied, “Because she was created from a living thing.” (4)

Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq likewise reported from Ibn ʿAbbās that she was formed from Adam’s shortest left rib while he was asleep, and that Allah closed up its place with flesh. This is confirmed by His words, “O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate, and from the two spread many men and women” [al-Nisāʾ 1], and by His saying, “It is He who created you from a single soul and made from it …” (5)