Najaf, Mecca or Jeddah? The surprising traditions about Adam and Eve’s graves

There are different reports about the burial place of Adam and Eve, but from most of them one can conclude that the grave of the Prophet Adam is likely in Najaf and is today counted among Najaf’s sights.

Where are the graves of Adam and Eve?

The grave of Adam and Eve is, like their life, full of mystery and carries an interesting story. Stay with us.

According to narrations, Adam spent most of his life in Kufa and in his later years went to Mecca and was engaged in building the Kaʿbah. After some time in Mecca he died there and his body was buried by his son Shīth (Seth), who had been chosen as his heir.

As you know, Noah is another prophet; after God’s command his people built the ark, and Noah along with the guided and various species boarded it and survived the great flood and migrated to another region. While the ark passed by Mecca, Noah by God’s command took Adam’s coffin out of the water and brought it with him to Najaf. For this reason the location of Adam’s grave has become the subject of doubt and debate.

In which country is the grave of Adam?

Some narrations transmitted from the Imams indicate that Adam’s grave is located in Najaf Ashraf. Below we cite a number of them.

Narration from Imam Sadiq (a)

“God revealed to Noah (a) while he was in the ark that he should circumambulate the Kaʿbah for a week; he did so, then entered the water while it reached his knees, and then he drew out a coffin from the water in which were the bones of Adam (a). He moved the coffin into the ark and circumambulated the Kaʿbah many times, then reached the gate of Kūfah and the centre of that mosque; the group that was with Noah dispersed, then he buried the coffin in a place called Gharri.”

Also regarding Adam and Eve’s grave it is narrated:

“The body of Adam was buried on Mount Abu Qubays in Mecca. Then after the flood Noah gathered Adam’s bones into a coffin, and that coffin was buried behind Kūfah; the graves of Adam and Noah are in Gharri (that is, Najaf Ashraf) and the coffin of the Commander of the Faithful, ʿAli (a), is placed atop their coffin in the same location.”

Thus Adam and Eve’s graves have been identified as Najaf. Although many people — like the Muslim geographer Muḥammad al-Idrisi, based on empirical observation — stated that Eve’s grave is in Jeddah, that view is not universally held.

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Narration from Imam Baqir (a)

“Between the Rukn and the Maqām, it is filled with the graves of God’s prophets, and the grave of Adam is in that place.”

In the ziyārat text of Imam ʿAli (a) it is also mentioned that the graves of Adam (a) and Noah (a) are placed beside the shrine of Imam ʿAli (a) (Mafātih al-Jinān, Ziyāratnama of the Commander).

Grave of Adam and Eve

Concerning Eve’s grave, Sayyid Ibn Tawus reports:

“In the scriptures of Idris (a) it is recorded that Adam (a) suffered a fever for ten days and died on Friday the eleventh of Muharram. He was buried in a cave on Mount Abu Qubays, placed facing the qibla, and his age from birth until death was nine hundred and thirty years. Eve (a) lived only one year after him, then endured illness for fifteen days and then died; she was buried beside Adam.”

From these narrations it can be understood that Adam and Eve’s grave was initially in Mecca and then taken to Najaf. Regarding Eve’s grave, some believe she was buried in Jeddah in Arabia, and for that reason the region is called Jeddah — meaning “grandmother” — in these accounts.

Length of Adam’s grave

Certainly the tombs of Adam and Eve, who lived thousands of years ago, differ from modern tombs. Their graves were made proportional to their stature. You may have heard many accounts about this and wondered how long Eve’s grave might be. Gatier, a French geographer, estimated the total length of Adam and Eve’s tomb at 130 metres. It is conjectured that Eve stood about eight feet (roughly 2.5 metres), while Adam’s grave is reported as seventy cubits long. According to available documents, Adam’s height is estimated at about 30 metres.

Probable locations of Adam and Eve’s graves

It can be said that these differing possibilities are what make visiting the supposed tombs of Adam and Eve so interesting — they invite us to travel through time and to ask about the life of the first humans who set foot on Earth.

The tombstone of Adam and Eve

What is reported and observed indicates that Adam and Eve’s graves were initially next to one another. But, as recounted earlier, a relocation took place. What remains today is represented as a large sarcophagus or coffin covered by cloth.

Over the years various photographs of Eve’s and Adam’s tombs have been taken; the most famous is an image published in the book The Grave of Eve: The Story of Pilgrimage to Hejaz by Nawab Sultan Jahan Begum in Calcutta in 1913. Other images were taken by different people; the oldest of these dates back to 1903.

[Image omitted — original showed a historic photograph of the graves, circa 1913.]

Frequently asked questions

Where are Adam and Eve buried?
According to various narrations, Adam and Eve’s graves are located in Najaf near the shrine of Imam ʿAli (a). However, according to some possibilities and narrations, Eve’s grave is in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Why are Adam and Eve’s graves said to be far apart?
Most narrations place the graves of Adam and Noah near Imam ʿAli’s shrine in Najaf, so they are not far apart. But some accounts hold that Eve was buried in Jeddah, which would explain a perceived separation.

In which country are Adam and Eve’s graves?
By most narrations Adam and Eve’s graves are in Najaf Ashraf (Iraq), near the shrine of Imam ʿAli (a). Yet some traditions claim Eve’s grave is in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

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