Ummah
Ummah (/ˈʊmə/;[1] Arabic: أُمَّة [ˈʊm.mæ]) is an Arabic word meaning "nation". It is distinguished from shaʻb (شَعْب [ˈʃæʕb], "people"), which means a nation with common ancestry or geography. Thus, it can be said to be a supra-national nation with a common history.
This article is about the Islamic concept. For the hip hop production collective, see The Ummah.It is a synonym for ummat al-Islām (أمّةْ الإِسْلَامُ, lit. 'the Islamic nation'); it is commonly used to mean the collective nation of Islamic people.[2] In the Quran, the ummah typically refers to a single group that shares common religious beliefs, specifically those that are the objects of a divine plan of salvation.[3][4] In the context of pan-Islamism and politics, the word ummah can be used to mean the concept of a Commonwealth of the Muslim Believers (أمة المؤمنين ummat al-muʼminīn).
General usage[edit]
The word ummah (pl. umam [ˈʊmæm]) means nation in Arabic. For example, the Arabic term for the United Nations is الأمم المتحدة al-Umam al-Muttaḥidah, and the term الأمة العربية al-Ummah al-ʻArabiyyah is used to refer to "the Arab Nation".[5]
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 shaʻab ("people") would be used to describe the citizens of Syria. However, the term ummah is used to describe the Arab people as a whole, which includes Syrians as well as the people of the Arab World.
Mecca[edit]
Initially, it did not appear that the new Muslim nation would oppose the tribes that already existed in Mecca.[18] 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.[18] However, what distinguished this community from the tribes was its focus of the place of those morals within a person's life.[18]
Back to Mecca[edit]
After the Muslim takeover of Mecca, membership in the ummah required a commitment to Islam.[21] 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.[18] 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.[18]
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.[18] Muhammad's nation was designed to transform the world itself through action in the world.[18]