The Arabic word “ummah” refers linguistically to any group that can be associated together for any reason. This includes, among other things, their being of the same faith, or their living in the same geographical region, or their sharing the same historical lineage, or their being from the same era.
The term ummah occurs 64 times in the Quran; 13 cases in the plural umam.
There is a clear link between the general meaning of the English term ‘community’ and the term ‘mother, source’ (umm).
As for the phrase “Community of Muhammad” (ummah Muhammad in Arabic), it has at least two meanings. These meanings are discussed by al-Nawawî in his Tahdhîb al-Asmâ’ wal-Lughât (3/11):
The term “community” refers to a number of meanings. Among these meanings is that it refers to all the people who believed in Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and followed the teachings that he came with. This is what the Qur’ân and Sunnah express praise for.
For instance, Allah says: “In that way, we made you a moderate community” and: “You were the best of communities”.
In the same way, the Prophet (peace be upon him) made statements like: “My intercession is for my community.” and: “My community will come forth bright and radiant.” and: “I swear by Him is whose hand is Muhammad’s soul.
Another meaning of the word “community” applies to those to whom Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was sent, regardless of whether or not they believed. In this regard, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “I swear by Him in whose hand is Muhammad’s soul, anyone from this community who hears of me – be he Jew or Christian – and then dies upon unbelief for what I was sent with, will be among the denizens of the Fire.” [Sahîh Muslim (153)]
Scholars have provided terms for these two categories of “Muhammad’s community.” The first are the “community who accepts the message” (ummah al-ijâbah). These are the Muslims. The other includes all the people who have come after the time of the Prophet and who are therefore recipients of his message. These are “the community that is called” (ummah al-da`wah).
Some scholars divide “Muhammad’s community” into three groups, adding to the previous two categories the group who actively practice their faith and engage in good works. This is the “community of followers” (ummah al-ittibâ`). In this case, the “community who accepts the message” (ummah al-ijâbah) refers to the generality of the Muslims, while the rest of humanity remains “the community that is called” (ummah al-da`wah). This breakdown of the term is supported by Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalânî in Fath al-Bârî (11/411). http://www.faithinallah.org/hadith-the-definition-of-ummah/
The Islamic concept of ummah originated under our Prophet (peace be upon him) in the 7th century of the Common Era. Those who believed in his message and migrated from Mekkah to Medinah with him formed a closely-knit group, which later came to be known as Ummatul Muslimin or simply Ummah. In essence, the tribal identity of the Arabs was now of secondary importance and was replaced by the Ummah identity. This change played a major role in Arab society because tribal identity and loyalty was the most important issue in Pre-Islamic Arabia. Islam did NOT abolish tribal identity, it only changed the hierarchy of the Arabs’ identities in society.
Whereas Europeans were developing the idea of nation and nationalism which would be worth dying for, Muslims had already found the satisfaction with martyrdom and reward in the Hereafter. However, the idea of nationalism challenged and still is challenging the traditional concept of the ummah.
According to the Quran, the primary meaning of the term ummah is “a group of living beings having certain characteristics or circumstances in common. The following quote from the Quran supports this:
“There is no beast that walks on earth and no bird flies on its two wings which is not (My) creature (umam) like you (mankind)… (6:38)” So, each species is an ummah based on a single source, umm.
Actually, it is the whole of humanity that was created as a single ummah, because it originated from one source: our parents, Adam and Eve. (10:19).
Furthermore, the Quran tells us that this single community was divided when it disagreed on the applicability of Divine Guidance. That meant that certain individuals rejected Divine Guidance and created an own ideology.
A variety of different communities in history have come and gone, following each their prophets (13:30, 10:47). All these prophets with their followers form an ummah (21:92). In fact, Abraham on his own was an ummah and didn’t have any followers (16:120).
The Quran explains to us clearly that if Allah wanted He would have made the whole of humanity one single ummah (community)
“however, He lets go astray him that wills, and guides aright him that wills; and you will surely be called to account for all that you ever did (16:93).”
According to Abdullah Al-Ahsan, the term ummah can also refer to a specific length of time, as the Quran says in 11:8. In this context ummah refers to a span of time because all communities have a definite period of time within which to live in this world (7:34). Therefore, the life of a particular community or civilization can be called an ummah. In the Quran we can find a distinction between the terms ummah and qawm, which basically mean the same thing: in 7: 159 and 160 Allah uses ummah as a more specific term whereas qawm is more general. Surah Al Baqarah uses the term ummah for the first time and describes it historically while it defines the special role that the followers of Muhammad (peace be upon him) in history play: “And thus we have willed you to be a community of the middle way (ummatan wasatan), so that you might be a witness (to the truth) before all mankind, and that the Apostle might bear witness (to it) before you. And it is only to the end that we might make a clear distinction between those who follow the Apostle and those who turn about on their heels that We had appointed (for this community) the direction of prayer…(2: 143)
Humanity used to be one single community but people disagreed among themselves about their way of life. An ummah is a community based on beliefs and the Muslim ummah is that which believes in the guidance of Allah and in His Prophet (peace be upon him). The Quran gives the ummah laws and customs.
“The followers of the Prophet comprised one ummah, a middle or balanced community (ummatan wasatan), and the best community (khaira ummatan). Its role among humanity is to counsel others to do good deeds and to forbid what is evil (3: 110). Its members are destined to do this on the basis of brotherhood (103) and equality (49:13); all share equally the responsibilities entrusted to the ummah. The ummah of Muslims took shape under the leadership of the Prophet after his migration from Mekkah to Medinah.” (p. 17)
The Muslim ummah includes all the Muslim states in the whole world and doesn’t go according to ethnic background, as it is the case in the West. A Muslim from Albania belongs to the ummah as well as a Muslim from Indonesia or Egypt. They all share a common Islamic culture and they are all brethren, which means that they have to love and support each other. They are being united by the belief in ONE creator and in the common worship of Him. Even the language of worship is ONE namely Arabic. Although the Muslims from different parts of the world speak different languages they still do their worship just in Arabic. The term ummah “accommodates other identities within its fold (49: 13) and it has the potential to inspire and guide its adherents.” (P. 148)
As Abdullah Al-Ahsan mentions in his book:
“The ummah of Muhammad, thus born in an Arabian environment, did not confine its call to the Arabs; its message was universal: it addressed the whole of mankind (nas). Whoever believed in the message of Muhammad became part of this new community. The unique character of this ummah was that it identified itself with previous prophets- Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jesus (peace be upon all of them)- for all of them, like Muhammad, submitted to the will of God. This identification gave a new sense of belonging to the followers of Muhammad.”
So, the meaning of the word ummah is much more than just nation, community or group it connects the Muslims from all over the world!
Whereas in the Prophet’s time the term ummah replaced the tribal identity, nowadays it needs to replace the nation-state identity. This does not mean that the nation-state will be abolished; rather, like the early Muslim community, modern Muslims need to change the hierarchy of their identities.
Nobody says that this will be easy, but once Muslims have understood how Islamic law modified Pre-Islamic law in order to conform with the Islamic concepts. It is important and very necessary to understand how Islam integrated other cultures, especially the great Byzantine and Persian civilizations, and what Islam accepted and what it also rejected. This will make Muslims of nowadays understand what part of European civilization to reject or to accept. They will be able to stand on their own feet and make conscious decisions.
*Abu Yaasir (MA, PhD in Political Science / Romance Linguistics / International Technical Development, University of Aachen/Germany + University of Cambridge/UK)
