THE FOUR RIVERS OF EDEN IN JUDAISM AND ISLAM1

The purpose of this paper is to examine the views on the Four Rivers of Eden and their specifications from two religious perspectives. The issue of the Garden of Eden including its location and features is an impressive topic in inter-religious studies. Questions about the exact location of this Garden led scientists to study the Jewish literature and the book of Genesis. These scientists extracted particular features from the Four Rivers of the Garden in order to elaborate their findings. In addition to Judaism, there were several discussions concerning this issue in the Islamic religious texts. This comparative study endeavored to investigate the issue of ‘the Four Rivers of Eden’ in Judaism and Islam based on their scriptures and religious scholars’ views. Discussions and findings were obtained via a library method and historical data.