Hold fast to the rope of Allah, the faith of Islam, and be not divided in groups. ~ Surah 3:105

The Arabic term for the unified community of Muslim believers is ummah wahidah, often simply shortened to ummah. It is the idea of an imagined worldwide community of Muslims united in submission to God. Islamic doctrine teaches that membership in the ummah should transcend geographical, cultural, tribal, and ethnic boundaries. However, recent polling has shown that Muslims’ faith is equally important to their nationality or culture. All believers in the ummah are equal, and all members of the ummah are called upon to support, assist, and protect each other.

The term ummah has more than one meaning in Islam. The Quran refers to the ummah as a people singled out by God to receive a prophecy or to play a role in God’s divine plan. In the Quran’s account, God has created many different ummahs in many different times for many different peoples, sending messengers to each. Most ummahs rejected God’s message and the messenger.