Ummah means a community of people joined by something they share. In Islam, the ummah is the community of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ: every Muslim, past and present, in every country. It is not a nation in the modern sense. It has no single race, language or border. What makes it one is faith in Allah and following His Messenger ﷺ.
Where the word comes from
Ummah comes from the root a-m-m, which gives amma, to aim for or go toward, umm, mother, and imam, the one in front. An ummah is a people who face the same way and follow the same lead, the way children share one mother. The plural is umam.
The ummah in the Quran
The Quran uses the word about 50 times, with several shades of meaning. It calls this ummah the best community brought out for people, because of what it does:
كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِ ۗ وَلَوْ ءَامَنَ أَهْلُ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ لَكَانَ خَيْرًۭا لَّهُم ۚ مِّنْهُمُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَأَكْثَرُهُمُ ٱلْفَٰسِقُونَ ﴿١١٠﴾
Kuntum khaira ummatin ukhrijat linnaasi taamuroona bilma'roofi wa tanhawna 'anil munkari wa tu'minoona billaah; wa law aamana Ahlul Kitaabi lakaana khairal lahum minhumul mu'minoona wa aksaruhumul faasiqoon
You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah. If only the People of the Scripture had believed, it would have been better for them. Among them are believers, but most of them are defiantly disobedient.
Quran 3:110 · Sahih International · Read in Surah Al-Imran
It also calls it "a just community" (ummatan wasatan), a middle people who are witnesses over humanity (2:143). Every earlier messenger had his own ummah (10:47), and the prophets together form one ummah: "Indeed this, your religion, is one religion" (21:92), where "religion" translates ummah. Once the word even describes one man: "Indeed, Abraham was a [comprehensive] leader" (16:120), an ummah in himself.
The ummah in the hadith
مَثَلُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي تَوَادِّهِمْ وَتَرَاحُمِهِمْ وَتَعَاطُفِهِمْ مَثَلُ الْجَسَدِ، إِذَا اشْتَكَى مِنْهُ عُضْوٌ تَدَاعَى لَهُ سَائِرُ الْجَسَدِ بِالسَّهَرِ وَالْحُمَّى
"The example of the believers in their love, mercy and kindness to one another is that of one body. When one part of it hurts, the rest of the body joins it in sleeplessness and fever."
Sahih al-Bukhari 6011; Sahih Muslim 2586, from an-Numan ibn Bashir
The Prophet ﷺ cared for his ummah to the very end. In Sahih Muslim, from Abdullah ibn Amr, he recited the duas of Ibrahim and Isa for their people, raised his hands and wept, saying "O Allah, my ummah, my ummah". Allah sent Jibril to tell him: "We will please you concerning your ummah and will not grieve you."
Two meanings scholars use
- Ummat al-ijabah, the ummah that answered: everyone who accepted Islam. This is what Muslims usually mean by "the ummah".
- Ummat al-dawah, the ummah that was invited: all of humanity since the Prophet ﷺ was sent, because his message is for every person (34:28).
How the word is used today
Muslims say "the Muslim ummah" or "the global ummah" when they speak of Muslims everywhere: praying for the ummah in a crisis, giving to relief work abroad, or feeling the pain of Muslims in another country. It is why a Muslim in Dallas and a Muslim in Dhaka can call each other brother and sister. "The believers are but brothers" (49:10). In Urdu and Bangla the word is ummat.
Common phrases with ummah
| Arabic | Say it as | Meaning |
|---|
| أُمَّةُ مُحَمَّدٍ ﷺ | ummatu Muḥammad | The ummah of Muhammad ﷺ |
| أُمَّةً وَسَطًا | ummatan wasaṭā | A just, middle community (2:143) |
| خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ | khayra ummah | The best community (3:110) |
| أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً | ummatan wāḥidah | One community (21:92) |
Related terms
- Quran 3:110, 2:143, 10:47, 21:92, 16:120, 34:28 and 49:10, translation by Sahih International.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 6011; Sahih Muslim 2586.
- Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Iman, from Abdullah ibn Amr (the Prophet ﷺ weeping for his ummah).