Ayaz
No, Ayaz is not mentioned in the Quran. It is a Turkish name that entered Persian culture through the historical figure Malik Ayaz during the Ghaznavid period.
Malik Ayaz was an Ethiopian slave who became the governor of Lahore under Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni. He is celebrated in Persian Sufi poetry by Rumi and Saadi as a paragon of loyalty and devotion.
In Sufi poetry, Ayaz symbolizes the annihilation of the ego (*fana*) and pure devotion to the spiritual master. His relationship with Mahmud of Ghazni represents the ideal lover-beloved dynamic.
Ayaz is extremely rare in modern Iran as a given name, though it persists in literary references and among families with Turkish heritage in regions like Khorasan and Azerbaijan.
In Persian, Ayaz is pronounced ah-YAHZ with emphasis on the second syllable. The 'z' is pronounced clearly, distinct from the Arabic name Ayas.