Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Hugh Kennedy, The Prophet and the 

Age of the Caliphates (Harlow, England: Longman, 

2003); Wilferd Madelung, The Succession to Muhammad: 

A Study of the Early Caliphate (Cambridge: Cambridge 

University Press, 1999).

umma

 

(Arabic: community, nation, tribe, 

people)

In each of the three Abrahamic religions the idea 

of an overarching community of the faithful holds 

great importance alongside doctrines of individual 

responsibility before God. The foremost concept 

of such a community in Judaism is that of Israel, 

or the people of Israel (Bene Yisrael). In Chris-

tianity it is the church (ekklesia). Muslims feel