Who is umma

It is very enlightening to see how the Prophet provided a solution to this question. In this way, there never was a purely political, a secular Ummah, nor a plural religious community. Here we notice an important change. The Islamic Sunnah has a divine origin, it is not human law. Every innovation introduced by Muhammad to the old Sunnah has a Divine sanction, who obeys Muhammad obeys God.

All the rituals of Islam, for instance, in regard to the pilgrimage, prayers, alms and fasting, were inspired by God and passed on to Muhammad. The same applies to decisions the Prophet took with regard to the social life of the Islamic community. The Muslims were paying attention to what the Prophet said and did in relation to the life of the community.

In this way the concept of Prophetic Sunnah had to be present from the very beginnings of Islam and cannot be considered a late innovation introduced by the Islamic jurists to force the caliph, the political authority to submit the religious Law. The messengers given special prominence as recipients of scripture and founders of an ummah are Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. Jews are an ummah based on the Torah which God gave to Moses, Christians an ummah based on the Injil gospel which God gave to Jesus, and Muslims an ummah based on the Qur'an, which God "sent down" to Muhammad.

The concept of ummah might seem to correspond to our understanding of a nation, but there are important differences. The nation is a strictly political concept; it may be defined as a community of peoples possessing a given territory with their own government; citizenship involves giving allegiance to the State, independently of a person's religious commitment. By contrast, citizenship in the ummah very much involves commitment to a particular religion.

To the Muslim way of thinking, the only ummah that counts is the Ummah Islamiyyah, the Islamic Community, an entity that theoretically comprises all Muslims throughout the world, whatever their national origin. In Islamic thought, "The Ummah" represents a universal world order, ruled by an Islamic government the Caliph in accordance with the "Law of God" the Shariah, Islamic religious law , and patterned after the community founded by Muhammad at Medina in AD; it even includes Jews and Christians living within its territory as separate and inferior communities.

I think you begin to see the conflict that exists between these two concepts. Ummah is also mentioned in the Quran in relation to communities with their own messengers. And God sent messengers with glad tidings and warnings; and with them He sent the Scriptures in truth, to judge between people in matters wherein they differed…" Quran Prophet Muhammad was sent to nurture an Ummah for the benefit of humanity, one designed to include all of humankind.

He was commanded by God to transmit a divine message; both a guidance and a warning to all. And in the Quran God refers to the Ummah of Muhammad as the best community.

The Ummah of Muhammad is known throughout Islamic history and throughout the world as community of believers united in their devotion to One God. Anybody who embraces Islam becomes a member of the Muslim Ummah. All members, the believers, are united by a very special bond that resembles the ties that bind a close family.

Muslims are brothers and sisters to one another. They should be incapable of being indifferent towards one another but instead should operate as one body or one community with a spirit of cooperation, good will, empathy and unity. The example of the believers in their love, mercy and sympathy for one another can be compared to one body; when any part of the body aches the whole body responds with sleeplessness and fever.

Prophet Muhammad was constantly concerned for the well-being of the Ummah. He worried not so much about their life in this world but fretted over their place in the Hereafter. He is known to have been distressed over the welfare of his Ummah to the point that he would cry until his beard was soaked with tears. My Ummah, my Ummah were the words he spoke in his supplications to God. Prophet Muhammad said to his companions, "Does it please you that you will be one-fourth of the people of Paradise?

Supplicate for me! Forgive Aisha her past and future sins, what she has hidden, as well as what she has made apparent. Prophet Muhammad said, "Does my supplication make you happy? Every member of the Ummah is regarded as equal before God. There is no distinction between black and white and any colour in between.

Islam brings everyone together into one community; all are equal members regardless of gender or status. It commands us to follow the guidance and heed the warnings contained in the Quran and the traditions of Prophet Muhammad.

And it is only through piety can one person be raised above another. Your favorites list is empty. You may add articles to this list using the article tools. Why register? This web site has several customizations made specifically for you, such as: your favorites, your history, marking articles you have previously viewed, listing articles published since your last visit, changing font size, and more.

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