Umma(h)
• Is the Arabic word for “community”, ranging in meaning from the religious congregation (as opposed to a tribal or political community), through the local (political) commune to refer even to the national and international communities.
• Was used to designate the first Muslim religious community in Medina.
• Came to embrace the religious and political community of Muslims around the world, sometimes translated as the “Islamic Nation” (in the singular!).
• Brings to expression the fact that, from the beginning, there existed no separation between religion and the state in Islam.
Caliph
(Arab “khalifa” = vicar, representative, successor)
• Was the title assumed by the Prophet’s successors after his death.
• Functioned as judges and mediators in cases of dispute.
• Led the army in war.
• Exercised primarily legal, political, and military, rather than religious authority; supreme religious authority is the Book, the Qur’an.
