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wa-ʾinna hādhihī ʾummatukum ʾummatan wāḥidatan wa-ʾana rabbukum fa-ttaqūni
Indeed this community of yours is one community, and I am your Lord, so be wary of Me.
— Ali Quli Qarai
23Al-Mu’minūnالمؤمنونVerse 52 of 118
The Believers23. Al-Mu’minūnالمؤمنون
Al Mu’minūn
The Believers
MeccanVerse 52 of 118
Surah al-Mu’minun - Verse 52
52. “And verily this Ummah of yours is a single Ummah, and I am your Lord, so fear Me.”
Both from the religious world-view and Divine perspectives, all nations, in fact, comprise one nation, The principles behind the call of all the Divine prophets reflect this fact, for the physical, spiritual, and innate needs of man are united in a common system of interrelationships. This noble verse indicates that all the Divine prophets and their followers have been called to monotheism and piety. The verse says:
“And verily this Ummah of yours is a single Ummah...”
They invite everyone to the unity and commonality of human society and invalidate all kinds of discrimination and separation. Since Allah is One, all of mankind are one nation. The verse says:
“...and I am your Lord, so fear Me.”
All nations must therefore follow one program, because their prophets invite people to one religion whose principles have been the same all over the world. These principles include: monotheism, the knowledge of Truth, acknowledging the Resurrection and the perfectibility of the life of man, using good things, performing good and pure deeds, and supporting justice and the principles of humanity. Some interpreters believe that the Qur’anic word ‘ummat’ here means ‘religion’, not people or nation, and the Qur’anic sentence /’ana rabukum/:
(“...I am your Lord...”),
which is in plural form, is an evidence to it and indicates that the objective meaning of ‘Ummat’ here is this very community of people. As a result, in all cases where the word ‘ummat’ is used in the Holy Qur’an, it means nation and group, except in some special contexts where it means religion in a figurative sense such as the verse:
“...Verily we found our fathers on a religion (ummat), and we are certainly followers of their footsteps.” 26
It is worthy to note that this subject is presented with a slight difference in verse 92 of Sura Al-’Anbiya:
“Verily, this Ummah of yours is a single Ummah, and I am your Lord, so worship Me.”
Before this verse, the story of many prophets had been presented and, in fact, the Arabic word /haǒihi/ refers to the communities of the previous prophets, all of whom were one Ummah from the view of the command of Allah, and all were persuading one goal.
Footnotes