Ayah

Ayah or Aayah" (Arabic: آية āyah, plural: ayat or ayaat آيات āyāt) is the Arabic word for evidence or sign:

"These are the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, revelations, etc.) of Allah, which We recite to you (O Muhammad) with truth. Then in which speech after Allah and His Ayat will they believe?" (Surat Al-Jathiya 45:6, Mohsin Khan translation of the Qur'an)

The word is usually used to refer to the smallest unit of the Qur'an, usually called 'verses' or 'signs' in English translations of the Qur'an. Muslims believe that each ayah of the Qur'an is a sign from God.

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

A common myth persists that the number of ayat in the Qur'an is 6,666. In fact, the total number of ayat in all suras is 6,236; the number varies if the bismillahs are counted separately.

The verse number is written in a symbol at the end of each verse. This symbol is ۝, end of ayah. Its Unicode number is U+06DD.

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.