Opening verse
وَمَا كَانَ النَّاسُ إِلَّا أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً فَاخْتَلَفُوا
Meaning: Mankind was (at first) one single ummah (following one religion); then (out of envy) they split into many groups. (10 Yunus: 19)
1️⃣ Ummah – meaning
- Linguistically: "mother", "community".
- Definitions given by sociologists:
- A group of people who came from one origin
- A community united by inherited characteristics
- A body of people united by one belief and one goal
- People joined together by religion, region or time
- In the Islamic tradition it is a technical term of religious sociology.
- The Quran uses the word "ummah" in more than fifty places.
What becomes clear from the Quran
- Human beings, born of the same father and mother and living as one ummah with one belief, split into many groups because of disagreement.
- Allah sent prophets to unite the divided groups through the kalimah "La ilaha illallah".
| Verse | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 10 Yunus: 19 | They were one ummah, and then they split |
| 23 Al-Mu'minun: 51–52 | O messengers! Eat of the good things and do righteous deeds; this ummah of yours is one ummah; I am your Lord, so fear Me |
| 42 Ash-Shura: 8 | Had Allah willed, He would have made them one ummah; He admits whom He wills into His mercy |
| 11 Hud: 118 | Had your Lord willed, He would have made all people one ummah; they will continue to differ, except those on whom He has mercy |
- Forgetting differences, believing in the One Allah and uniting as one ummah is something that comes from Allah's mercy.
2️⃣ The Muslim ummah – definition
- Islamic social thinkers: Imam Ibn Khaldun, al-Farabi, Rashid Rida.
- Definition: a collection of individuals who share the common feature of belonging to the religion of Islam, and who have these special qualities –
- Being balanced (the middle way)
- Enjoining good and forbidding evil
- Bearing witness to mankind
| Verse | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 3 Al 'Imran: 110 | You are the best ummah raised for mankind; you enjoin good and forbid evil |
| 2 Al-Baqarah: 143 | We have made you a balanced (middle) ummah, so that you may be witnesses over mankind |
- Paying no attention to differences of nation, race, language or colour, everyone who has declared the kalimah "La ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah" and taken Islam as his way of life is a member of the Muslim ummah.
3️⃣ The origin of the Muslim ummah
- It was the cherished dream of Ibrahim (AS), the father of the prophets, and Isma'il (AS).
- While building the Ka'bah they prayed: "O Allah! Make us both Muslims submitting to You, and make from our descendants a Muslim ummah submitting to You."
- (The textbook gives no verse number; this is the meaning of 2 Al-Baqarah: 128.)
- Signs that the prayer was accepted:
- Muhammad ﷺ, the founder of the ummah, came from the line of Isma'il (AS).
- The Ka'bah unites all the Muslims of the world as one ummah.
4️⃣ 9 guidelines for protecting the ummah
- Holding fast to the Quran and Sunnah
- Obeying the leadership
- Giving importance to collective duties
- Freedom of opinion for individuals
- Accepting the consensus decision when there is disagreement on public matters
- Muslims acting together in unity
- Bearing witness and acting as a model
- Maintaining brotherhood
- Maintaining equality
- Each individual's strength and safety depend on the strength and safety of the ummah.
- Salvation in the Hereafter too is for those who live joined to the ummah.
5️⃣ The warning about division
- Hadith (Ibn Majah): The Children of Israel split into seventy-one groups; my ummah will split into seventy-three groups; all will enter the Fire except one; that one group is as-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah.
- This must not be misunderstood: organisations within the ummah such as a firqah, ta'ifah, hizb, jama'ah, madhhab, harakah, tariqah, jam'iyyah cannot be regarded as groups that will enter the Fire if they accept Islamic 'aqidah and the Shari'ah.
- Individuals and organisations working for the survival and spread of the ummah belong to ahl as-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah.
Broad-mindedness
- Hadith: "Whoever prays our prayer, faces our qiblah and eats what we have slaughtered is one of us." (The textbook gives no source; this hadith is in Bukhari.)
- Rather than splitting over minor matters, we should unite on the fundamentals.
6️⃣ Our duties as the Sri Lankan ummah
Fulfilling our responsibilities as members of the worldwide Muslim ummah and as members of the Sri Lankan ummah is a moral duty.
What we should practise as people of Sri Lanka:
-
Love for the nation; loyalty to the nation
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Respecting the feelings of the nation's people
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Contributing to national unity; facing the challenges the nation meets
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Respecting the nation's civil laws
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Giving up ethnic and religious self-interest
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Cooperating to end anti-social activities
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Following the Prophet's ﷺ example in dealing with other communities
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Keeping our religious and cultural identity and the limits of the Shari'ah
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Friendly dialogue with fellow communities
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Learning the national languages
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Pursuing common goals
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Praying for the nation
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As a balanced ummah, it is not difficult to reconcile love of the nation and love of the community.
Key terms
الأمة • ابن خلدون • الفرقة • الطائفة • الحزب • الجماعة • المذهب • الحركة • الطريقة • الجمعية
Memory tip
The 3 special qualities of the Muslim ummah → "B–E–W": Balanced (2:143), Enjoining good (3:110), Witness-bearing (2:143).
Quick revision
- Ummah = mother, community; in more than 50 places in the Quran.
- 10:19 – they were one ummah, then they split.
- Ibn Khaldun, al-Farabi, Rashid Rida – definitions.
- 3:110 the best ummah; 2:143 the balanced ummah.
- Origin – the prayer of Ibrahim and Isma'il (AS); the Ka'bah unites.
- 9 guidelines; 73 groups – as-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah (Ibn Majah).
- The Sri Lankan ummah – reconciling love of nation and love of community.