THE CONCEPT OF #UMMAH IN ISLAM:
Ummah is an Arabic word that is usually translated into English as nation. Thus, when someone from an English-speaking background hears the word Ummah, they think of the nation state whose members live between a set of predefined borders.

This however is not technically correct because Sha’b is the Arabic word that means nation. However, Ummah does not only define a group of people with common ancestry or in the same geographical region; it means this plus much more.
Ummah is divided into two types.

1)Ummat al-da'wa: The people that got Invited to the message of Islam. This is the whole humanity.
2)Ummat al-ijaba: The people that accepted the Message. These are the people who believed in the message of Prophet Muhammad pbuh and they are called Muslims.

The Ummah(al-ijaba), or Muslim community, is a group of people from diverse backgrounds, ancestry, locations and nationalities. They are a community without borders yet united in a very real way. Though separated by distance and often constrained by borders they are united.

They are one nation or community united under the guidance of the One God, One Book and they pray in One Direction.
"And verily this Ummah of yours is one Ummah and I am your Lord and Cherisher, therefore fear Me and no other." (Quran 23:52)

The Nation in Heritage and History:
When the revelation descended on Prophet Muhammad pbuh in the cave of Hira, there was no such thing as “nation” in the Arab Gulf. There were conflicting tribes, a plethora of dialects and faiths, clashing aspirations and on the outskirts of the

peninsula there were political entities exploited by the major states in the region at that time; The Ghassanids and the Manathira in the Levant & Hayra who were connected to the Romans & Persians. Differences were set according to wealth, prestige, honor, boasting of fathers and

mothers, tribes & races. The people at that time adopted three basic classes; the masters, the commoners, and the slaves.
When the Prophet pbuh died he left the Arab Gulf behind as a one whole nation with one single faith, who worship one God, follow one law (Sharia) & directing

themselves to one direction for prayer(qibla).

William Montgomery Watt who was a Scottish historian, Orientalist, Anglican priest, and academic says about the concept of the nation, “The concept of the nation as it comes in Islam is the most unprecedented magnificent idea.

Till our time it still remains to be a fount for every stream of faith urging the Muslims to “uniting” into a single “nation” where all the boundaries of race, language, fanaticism to lineage or kin vanish. Islam is unique in creating this unity between its followers to include

different spectrums of Arabs, Persians, Indians, Mongols, Chinese, Berbers, Negroes and white races sprawling all over the globe and with all their diverse interests. No one has ever come out of this nation trying to split this link or trying to disconnect himself from it."

"Humankind was one single Ummah. 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 2:213)

"To every Ummah (was sent) a messenger…" (Quran 16:36)

Prophet Muhammad pbuh 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.