In the Qur’an, the term āyah is frequently used for those signs of Allah that manifest in the inner self and the universe, and which pertain to the habitual acts of Allah’s power. In essence, these are undoubtedly extraordinary, but due to their regular, continuous, and perpetual occurrence, they appear before us as routine events and observations. This is why they generally do not become a cause for astonishment or contemplation for people. However, since these signs are definitive, clear, known, and incontrovertible, the Qur’an draws attention to them and, based on them, invites people to acknowledge the truth. These divine signs, manifest throughout the universe, are mentioned extensively in the Qur’an. For example, the transformation of barren land into flourishing fields, the creation of humans from clay, the formation of pairs from one’s own kind and then creating harmony and compatibility between them, the creation of the heavens and the earth and establishing concord between them, raising the heavens without pillars, making the sun and the moon subject to a fixed law, spreading out the earth and embedding mountains as pegs, placing differences in color, race, and language for mutual recognition among people, creating night for rest and day for work, causing states of fear and hope with celestial lightning, and bringing life to the barren earth by sending down water from the sky represent various forms of these clear signs.
In Surah Ar-Rum, verses 19 to 25 present a section where multiple verses of this nature are cited and reasoned. In this section, the words wa min āyātihī (And among His signs is this) are repeated to draw attention to those great signs which people tend to overlook merely because they become a part of their regular observation and routine experience. It is stated:
يُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَيُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ وَيُحْيِ الْاَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا وَكَذٰلِكَ تُخْرَجُوْنَ. وَمِنْ اٰيٰتِهٖ٘ اَنْ خَلَقَكُمْ مِّنْ تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ اِذَا٘ اَنْتُمْ بَشَرٌ تَنْتَشِرُوْنَ. وَمِنْ اٰيٰتِهٖ٘ اَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُمْ مِّنْ اَنْفُسِكُمْ اَزْوَاجًا لِّتَسْكُنُوْ٘ا اِلَيْهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُمْ مَّوَدَّةً وَّرَحْمَةً اِنَّ فِيْ ذٰلِكَ لَاٰيٰتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَّتَفَكَّرُوْنَ. وَمِنْ اٰيٰتِهٖ خَلْقُ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالْاَرْضِ وَاخْتِلَافُ اَلْسِنَتِكُمْ وَاَلْوَانِكُمْ اِنَّ فِيْ ذٰلِكَ لَاٰيٰتٍ لِّلْعٰلِمِيْنَ. وَمِنْ اٰيٰتِهٖ مَنَامُكُمْ بِالَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَابْتِغَآؤُكُمْ مِّنْ فَضْلِهٖ اِنَّ فِيْ ذٰلِكَ لَاٰيٰتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَّسْمَعُوْنَ. وَمِنْ اٰيٰتِهٖ يُرِيْكُمُ الْبَرْقَ خَوْفًا وَّطَمَعًا وَّيُنَزِّلُ مِنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءً فَيُحْيٖ بِهِ الْاَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا اِنَّ فِيْ ذٰلِكَ لَاٰيٰتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَّعْقِلُوْنَ. وَمِنْ اٰيٰتِهٖ٘ اَنْ تَقُوْمَ السَّمَآءُ وَالْاَرْضُ بِاَمْرِهٖ ثُمَّ اِذَا دَعَاكُمْ دَعْوَةً مِّنَ الْاَرْضِ اِذَا٘ اَنْتُمْ تَخْرُجُوْنَ.
[You wonder how this will happen. Do you not see that] He takes out the living from the dead and the dead from the living, and once again makes the land lush green after it dies. In a similar way, you too will be taken out. And from among His signs is this also that He has created you from clay; then before long you grow into human beings and spread out [in the land]. And from among His signs is also that He has made your pairs from your own species so that you can receive comfort from them and has created love and affection between you. There certainly are great signs in this for those who reflect. The creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity in your languages and colours is also from among His signs. In it, there certainly are many signs for those endowed with knowledge. In a similar way, your sleeping by night and day and finding His bounty are also among His signs. Surely, there are many signs in this for people who listen [from the ears of their hearts]. And from among His signs is also that He shows you flashes of lightning which produce fear also and hope as well and rains down water from the heavens. Then He brings life to the land from it after it dies. Surely, there are many signs in this for those who use their intellect. And from among His signs is also that the heavens and the earth exist because of His command. Then when only once He will summon you to come out from the earth, you will come out as soon as you hear it. (30:19-25)
At this point, a brief mention of the signs that have been mentioned is as follows. This will make it easier to understand the aforementioned application of the term āyah.