Many philosophers are trying to find something that unifies human knowledge/exis

tence (are even turning to linguistics) and have so far been unsuccessful...
Muslims don't have that problem
if you list everything Allah calls an ayah in the Qur'an, it'll cover the entire
expanse of human experience/history/knowledge
the word ayah is what unifies the entire human existence for a Muslim
List of different derivates and their meanings of ayah (root letters: ) :
1- a marker
the word is used for the rays of the sun- don't need to see sun itself to know t
hat it's there, you see the rays- which come from the sun - and that's good enou
gh for you, you don't question if the sun is really there somewhere or not
===>an ayah is a sign of something bigger, and that ayah is part of that bigger
thing, we don't question that there's something bigger, because we see the "rays
"
2- identification
3- to draw lessons from something
===>if something is called an ayah by Allah, we have to learn lessons from it
3- to mean something, to do something purposefully
===>an ayah has meaning, has a purpose beyond itself, gives a purpose - so every
thing called an ayah has a purpose and meaning, there's no such thing as useless
, for no reason, just for decoration
4- (missed the actual word/meaning but i heard the lesson from it)
===>our attitude towards ayaat is not that we should know all of them, it's that
we should reflect on them -- quality over quantity
5- to act moderately, balanced, humbly
===>ayaat are supposed to humble you, give you balance
6- to stop, pause, remain somewhere
===>ayaat give you stability
7- to direct course towards something
===>ayaat give you a course, a path leading you to a destination - if you're loo
king at an ayah (like a tree, for ex) and it's not leading you anywhere, you're
doing something wrong - think about the ayah for a second and you'll start down
that path
8- one derivative is used to get someones attention - "hey!"
===>ayahs get your attention, grab our attention - for a purpose (you don't just
get someones attention and then don't say anything)
9- that same derivative (8) also means i.e. - to clarify, to give clarity
10- another way to say yes, when you're sure of your answer ( )
===>ayaat are confirming what you already know, they give you confidence in your
"answer" -meaning your knowledge of the Creator and the truth - they serve as c
lear proof
11- also used for questions
===> ayaat are supposed to make you ask wonder, reflect, ask questions
12- also used for distinguishing
===>ayaat distinguish something from other things-- every ayah is different and
should be reflected on individually - every single tree or plant or fish or what
not is completely unique and independent of all other things (in terms of being
an ayah) and deserves its own focus, reflection, derived lesson
13- What a man! what a guy! -- when you're amazed by something
===> ayaat should amaze you, shock you, inspire awe in you - and they will, if y
ou think about them in the proper way
14- used for beauty, light, rays of the sun
===>look for beauty, light, connection in ayaat - (they make you appreciate beau
ty; they are a means of guidance for you; they connect you to the Creator of all
things - see point 1 about sun rays)
15- i direct myself to You (in particular)
===>direct us to Allah and Allah alone - there's no one else that ayaat could po
ssibly direct you to
16- the word itself - means a message
===>every ayah has a message in it for you
so based on this cursory understanding of the word, if you look again at what al
l Allah calls an ayah in the Qur'an, perception is completely different
changes the meaning for you, changes how you understand it, and gives you so man
y more places to get guidance from
the world view of Muslim changes, no one sees what a Muslim sees
you see a tree, I see an ayah, i see guidance, i see the true might of my Rabb
so long as your mindset is correct, no matter what you're studying, you're study
ing ayaat
"worldly" things are actually ayaat, remember that and you won't go wrong
one of the core purposes of ayaat = to make you think a certain way --- cycle:
when you read ayaat of Quran, they make you think of ayaat of world,
when you think of ayaat of world, makes you come back to ayaat of the quran ---
the Book is not to be the sole focus of a muslim, it tells us to stop reading it
and to look at those other signs - have to reflect on those ayaat which only ha
ppens by looking at the creation, the other ayaat
the Book makes us go engage the outside world; when you engage the outside world
, makes you engage the Book again-
THIS is the life of a believer, this is how the entire life of a believer can be
come dhikr
if either one of these parts is missing, the cycle breaks down
you must be connected to revelation, and also must be connected to the world it
self -
need to experience the ayat which you can only do by actually gardening and seei
ng the earth rise and the plant sprout, or whichever particular ayah it is - can
't just read it, need to see it to appreciate the lessons it's teaching you