' (; ) is an
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
word meaning
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
identity, nation, religious community, or the concept of a
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
of the Muslim Believers ( ').
It is a synonym for ' (,
lit. 'the Islamic nation'); it is commonly used to mean the collective community of Muslim people. In the
Quran
The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
, the ''ummah'' typically refers to a single group that shares a common religious beliefs, specifically those that are the objects of a divine plan of salvation.
The word ''ummah'' (pl. ''umam'' ) means
nation
A nation is a type of social organization where a collective Identity (social science), identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, t ...
in
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
. For example, the Arabic term for the United Nations is , and the term is used to refer to "the Arab Nation".
Ummah is distinguished from ' ( , "people"), which means a nation with common ancestry or geography. The word ''ummah'' differs from the concept of a country or people. In its greater context it is used to describe a larger group of people. For example, in Arabic the word شعب ' ("people") would be used to describe the citizens of
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
. However, the term ''ummah'' is used to describe the
Arab people
Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world.
Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
as a whole, which includes
Syrians
Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine Arabic, Levantine and Mesopotamian Arabic, Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The culture of Syria, cultural ...
as well as the people of the
Arab world
The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...
. Ummah can be a supra-national polity with a common history and identity based on religion.
Pan-Islamism
Pan-Islamism () is a political movement which advocates the unity of Muslims under one Islamic country or state – often a caliphate – or an international organization with Islamic principles. Historically, after Ottomanism, which aimed at ...
advocates for the unity of Muslims in one
nation
A nation is a type of social organization where a collective Identity (social science), identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, t ...
as an
Islamic country or an
Islamic state
The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...
.
Islamic usage and origin
The phrase ' in the
Quran
The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
(, "One Nation") refers to all the Islamic world as it existed at the time. The Quran says: "You
uslimsare the best nation brought out for Mankind, commanding what is
righteous ( ', lit. "recognized
s good) and forbidding what is wrong ( ', lit. "recognized
s evil)"
:110 The usage is further clarified by the
Constitution of Medina
The Constitution of Medina (; or ; also known as the Umma Document), is a document dealing with tribal affairs during the Islamic prophet Muhammad's time in Medina and formed the basis of the First Islamic State, a multi-religious polity under his ...
, an early document said to have been negotiated by
Muhammad
Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
in CE 622 with the leading clans of
Medina
Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...
, which explicitly refers to
Jews
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
,
Christians
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
and
pagan
Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...
citizens of Medina as members of the '.
Emergence
At the time of
Muhammad
Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
, before the conception of the ummah, Arab communities were typically governed by kinship.
In other words, the political ideology of the Arabs centred on tribal affiliations and blood relations.
In the midst of a tribal society, the religion of
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
emerged and along with it the concept of the ummah. The ummah emerged according to the idea that a messenger or prophet has been sent to a nation.
Unlike earlier messengers, who had been sent to various nations in the past (as can be found among the Prophets in the Old Testament), Muhammad sought to develop an ummah that was universal and not only for Arabs.
Muhammad saw his purpose as the transmission of a divine message and the leadership of the Islamic nation.
Islam sees Muhammad as the messenger to the ummah, transmitting a divine message, and implying that God is directing the life affairs of the ummah.
Accordingly, the purpose of the ummah was to be based on religion by following the
commands of God, rather than
kinship
In anthropology, kinship is the web of social relationships that form an important part of the lives of all humans in all societies, although its exact meanings even within this discipline are often debated. Anthropologist Robin Fox says that ...
.
Immediately after Muhammad's death in 632,
caliphate
A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...
s were established and the
Shia
Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...
emerged. Caliphates were
Islamic state
The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...
s under the leadership of a political successor to the Islamic prophet
Muhammad
Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
.
These
polities
A polity is a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of political institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources.
A polity can be any group of people organized for governance ...
developed into multi-ethnic trans-national empires.
Qur'an
There are 62 instances in which the term ''ummah'' is mentioned in the
Qur'an
The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...
,
and they almost always refer to
ethical
Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied e ...
,
linguistic
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
, or religious bodies of people who are subject to the
divine
Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...
plan of
salvation
Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
.
The meaning of the term appears to transform throughout the chronology of the Qur'an.
When it is first used in the Qur'an, it is hardly distinguishable from the term ''qawm'', which can be translated to 'people'. The Qur'an recognizes that each ''ummah'' has a messenger that has been sent to relay a divine message to the nation and that all ''ummah''s await God's ultimate judgment.
Although the meaning of the ''ummah'' begins simply with a general application of the word, it gradually develops in reference to a general religious community and then evolves to specifically refer to the Muslim nation.
Before it referred exclusively to Muslims, the ''ummah'' encompassed Jewish and Christian communities as one with the Muslims and referred to them as the
People of the Book
People of the Book, or ''Ahl al-Kitāb'' (), is a classification in Islam for the adherents of those religions that are regarded by Muslims as having received a divine revelation from Allah, generally in the form of a holy scripture. The clas ...
.
That is supplemented by the
Constitution of Medina
The Constitution of Medina (; or ; also known as the Umma Document), is a document dealing with tribal affairs during the Islamic prophet Muhammad's time in Medina and formed the basis of the First Islamic State, a multi-religious polity under his ...
which declares all members of the ''ummah'', regardless of religion, to be of "one ''ummah''".
In those passages of the Qur'an, ''ummah'' may be referring to a unity of mankind through the shared beliefs of the monotheistic religions.
Frederick Mathewson Denny argues that the most recent ''ummah'' that receives a messenger from God is the Arab ''ummah''.
As the Muslims became stronger during their residence in Medina, the Arab ''ummah'' narrowed into an ''ummah'' exclusively for Muslims.
That is evidenced by the
resacralisation of the
Kaaba
The Kaaba (), also spelled Kaba, Kabah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaba al-Musharrafa (), is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and Holiest sites in Islam, holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Sa ...
and Muhammad's command to take a
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
to
Mecca
Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
, along with the redirection of prayer from
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
to Mecca.
The period in which the term is used most often is within the Third Meccan Period, followed by the Medinian Period.
The extensive use of the term during both time periods indicates that Muhammad had begun to arrive at the concept of the ''ummah'' to specify the genuine Muslim nation.
Furthermore, the early Meccan passages generally equate ''ummah'' as religion, but in the Medinan passages refer more specifically to the relations of ''ummah'' and religion.
The final passage that refers to ''ummah'' in the Qur'an refers to the Muslims as the "best nation" and accordingly led to it being as an exclusive reference to Islam.
A verse in the Qur'an also mentions the ''ummah'' in the context of all of the messengers, and that their ''ummah'' (nation) of theirs is one, and God is their Lord entirely:
Mecca
Initially, it did not appear that the new Muslim nation would oppose the tribes that already existed in Mecca.
The first Muslims did not need to make a break with traditional Quraysh customs since the vision for the new nation included moral norms that were not unfamiliar to the tribal society of Mecca.
However, what distinguished this community from the tribes was its focus of the place of those morals within a person's life.
Medina
After Muhammad and the first converts to Islam were forced to leave
Mecca
Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
, the community was welcomed in Medina by the Ansar, a group of Pagans who had converted to Islam.
Despite Medina already being occupied by numerous Jews and polytheistic tribes, the arrival of Muhammad and his followers provoked no opposition from Medina's residents.
[ Upon arriving in Medina, Muhammad established the ]Constitution of Medina
The Constitution of Medina (; or ; also known as the Umma Document), is a document dealing with tribal affairs during the Islamic prophet Muhammad's time in Medina and formed the basis of the First Islamic State, a multi-religious polity under his ...
with the various tribal leaders in order to form the Meccan immigrants and the Medinan residents into a single nation, the ''ummah''. Rather than limiting members of the ''ummah'' to a single tribe or religious affiliation as had been the case when the ''ummah'' first developed in Mecca, the Constitution of Medina ensured that the ''ummah'' was composed of a variety of people and beliefs essentially making it to be supra-tribal. Islamic historian, Tabari, suggested that Muhammad's initial intentions upon arriving in Medina was to establish a mosque, however this is unlikely. Tabari also claimed that Muhammad observed the first Friday prayer in Medina. It occurred on Friday because Friday served as a market day in Medina to enable Jews to observe the sabbath. Membership to the ''ummah'' was not restricted to adhering to the Muslim faith but rather encompassed all of the tribes as long as they vowed to recognize Muhammad as the nation and political figure of authority.
The Constitution of Medina declared that the Jewish tribes and the Muslims from Medina formed 'one ''ummah''.' It is possible that the Medinan ''ummah'' was purely secular (compared to the later transformation of the ''ummah'' in Mecca) due to its variety of beliefs and practices of its members. The purpose of the Constitution of Medina was to uphold political obligations and social relations between the various tribes. The community members in Medina, although not derived from the same faith, were committed to each other through a desire to defend the common good of the nation. In other words, the nation was united according to preserve its shared interests. The people of other religious beliefs, particularly those that are considered to be "People of the Book" were granted the special protection of God through the dhimmah contract. These other religious groups were guaranteed security by God and Muhammad because of their common religious history as being the "People of the Book
People of the Book, or ''Ahl al-Kitāb'' (), is a classification in Islam for the adherents of those religions that are regarded by Muslims as having received a divine revelation from Allah, generally in the form of a holy scripture. The clas ...
". The dhimmah served as a sort of alliance between Muslims and non-Muslims. In the earlier treaties of the dhimmah, both groups were viewed as equal in status and both were obligated to help the other. However, in later treaties, after Islam had gained more power throughout Arabia, the dhimmah was perceived as the fulfilment of the religious duties of Muslims along with the payment of zakat. With the new contract of dhimmah, non-Muslims' protection by God and Muhammad became dependent on their payment.
Constitution of Medina
The Constitution of Medina
The Constitution of Medina (; or ; also known as the Umma Document), is a document dealing with tribal affairs during the Islamic prophet Muhammad's time in Medina and formed the basis of the First Islamic State, a multi-religious polity under his ...
is a document created by Muhammad to regulate social and political life in Medina. It deals with various tribal issues such as the organization and leadership of the participating tribal groups, warfare, blood money, ransom of captives, and war expenditures. It is at the beginning of the document that the Muslims from the Quraysh (those from Mecca) and the Muslims from Yathrib (those from Medina) are declared to be an ''ummah'' or one nation. The word ''ummah'' appears again when the document refers to the treaty of the Jews and states that the Yahūd Banī ' Awf, or Jews, are an ''ummah'' that exists alongside the ''ummah'' of the Muslims or may be included in the same ''ummah'' as the Muslims.
The document states that the Jews who join the Muslims will receive aid and equal rights. In addition, the Jews will be guaranteed security from the Muslims, and are granted to maintain their own religion just as the Muslims will maintain theirs. This implies that the ''ummah'' is not strictly a religious nation in Medina. The Constitution of Medina lists the various Medinan tribes derived from the Aws and Khazraj as well as the several Jewish tribes that are granted to keep their tribal organization and leadership. The document also reveals that each group, the Muslims and the Jews, is responsible for its own finances except during time of war, when the two are able to share expenses.
Back to Mecca
After the Muslim takeover of Mecca, membership in the ''ummah'' required a commitment to Islam. This happened as a result of Islam beginning to distinguish itself not just from Paganism but also Judaism and Christianity by emphasizing a model of nation based on Abraham
Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...
. The membership of the ''ummah'' was now based on two main principles; the first is to worship God alone and secondly, in order to worship God properly one must be in a guided nation. The essentials of the new society were the new relations between human beings and God and between human beings and one another. The society was held together by the Prophet. Feuding among Muslim clans was forbidden. Muhammad's nation was designed to transform the world itself through action in the world.
See also
* Caliphate
A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...
* Constitution of Medina
The Constitution of Medina (; or ; also known as the Umma Document), is a document dealing with tribal affairs during the Islamic prophet Muhammad's time in Medina and formed the basis of the First Islamic State, a multi-religious polity under his ...
* Divisions of the world in Islam
In classical Islamic law, there are three major divisions of the world which are ''dar al-Islam'' (), denoting regions where Islamic law prevails,
* Islamic missionary activity
* Kafir
''Kāfir'' (; , , or ; ; or ) is an Arabic-language term used by Muslims to refer to a non-Muslim, more specifically referring to someone who disbelieves in the Islamic God, denies his authority, and rejects the message of Islam as ...
* List of countries by Muslim population
Adherents of Islam constitute the world's second largest and fastest growing major religious grouping, maintaining suggested 2017 projections in 2022. As of 2020, Pew Research Center (PEW) projections suggest there are a total of 1.9 billion ...
* Muslim population growth
* Muslim world
The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is ...
* Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC; ; ), formerly the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1969. It consists of Member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, 57 member s ...
* Pan-Islamism
Pan-Islamism () is a political movement which advocates the unity of Muslims under one Islamic country or state – often a caliphate – or an international organization with Islamic principles. Historically, after Ottomanism, which aimed at ...
References
External links
The definition of 'Ummah' is the unity of the Muslims
(archived 20 October 2007)
Online Islamic Learning Resource
{{Authority control
Arabic words and phrases in Sharia
Pan-Islamism
Islamic concepts of religious geography