Ayah

"Ayat" redirects here. For other uses, see Ayah (disambiguation) and Ayat (disambiguation).

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Qur’anic exegesis Persons related to verses mentioned by name Occasions of revelation Abrogation Biblical narratives Esoteric interpretation Qur'anic hermeneutics
Related Inimitability Qur'an and tradition Qur'anism Shi’a Createdness Criticism

Ayah or Aayah" (Arabic: آية āyah, plural: ayat or ayaat آيات āyāt) is the Arabic word for 'evidence' or 'sign'. The term also refers to verses of the Qur'an which are marked with a verse number written at the end of each verse.

"These are the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, revelations, etc.) of God, which We recite to you (O Muhammad) with truth. Then in which speech after God and His signs will they believe? (45:6)"

Although the term is usually used to refer to the smallest unit of the Qur'an, or a verse, it is doubtful whether it ever means anything other than sign or a remarkable event in the Qur'an. The ‘sign’ refers to various phenomena, sometimes it refers to nature, creation of the universe, the alternation of day and night, rainfall, or the life and growth plants. Other references are to the fate of unbelievers, the reward of believers, or miracles. For example:

"And of his signs is the creation of the heavens and earth and what He has dispersed throughout them of creatures.(42:29)"

"And a sign for them is the dead earth. We have brought it to life and brought forth from it grain, and from it they eat.(33:33)"

"and they denied him; therefore we destroyed them. Herein is indeed a sign yet most of them are not believers.(26:139)"

"you are but a mortal like us. So bring some sign if you are of the truthful.(26:154)"

Chapters in the Qur'an, called suras in Arabic, are made up of several verses. Chapters vary in length, ranging from 3 to 286 verses. Within a long chapter, the verses may be further grouped into thematic sequences or passages.

For the purpose of interpretation, the verses are separated into two groups: those that are clear and unambiguous ("muhkam") and those that are allegorical ("mutashabeh"). This distinction is based on the Qur'an itself: "It is God Who has sent down to you the Book. In it are verses that are 'clear', they are the foundation of the Book. Others are 'allegorical' but those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except God. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: We believe in the Book, the whole of it is from our Lord. And none will grasp the Message except men of understanding.(3:7)"

The word ayah is also used to refer to the verses of the Bible by Arab Christians and Christians in countries where Arabic words are used for religious terms.

A common myth persists that the number of verses in the Qur'an is 6,666. In fact, the total number of verses in all chapters is 6,236. The number varies if the phrase Basmala which means 'In the name of God' and appears in the beginning of each chapter, are counted separately.

This symbol of a verse in the text of Qur'an is: ۝ . Its Unicode number is U+06DD.