At present, the Arab world is living through a political scene whose expectations and outcomes are indefinite and unknown, and in which common and rising slogans reverberate, some of which defend nationalism and some of which advocate various religious and political leanings. This fusing and blend of concepts expresses the extent of the fusing of the borders of religious, sectarian, and ethnic membership with political membership (monarchical, republican, or constitutional) in these countries until the differences between the community and the nation-state are no longer possible to demarcate. These concepts, however, are not new to our culture, but as ancient as our historical existence. Thus, we need a careful reading of this topic directly from the texts of the Book of God to clarify and separate the various meanings of these terms in a way that leaves no room for uncertainty.

1—The Meaning of Community, People, and Nation

These terms are used often in the daily life of our societies in different areas, sometimes with meanings that are fused or inconsistent. Thus, we need [A 172] to draw their meanings entirely from the texts of the Book of God until we have comprehended how they differ and identified the borders between them.

A—The Community

The Arabic term umma was derived from the root umm (mother). This root has numerous meanings, and the meaning that concerns us here is concerned with collective human behavior, in the word of God: ‘And when he arrived at the watering (place) in Madyan, he found there a group [umma] of men watering (their flocks)….’ (The Stories 28:23, revised). The collective behavior that unites the community in the verse is watering the flocks.