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Ummah (Arabic: أمة [ˈʊmmæ]) is an Arabic word meaning "community". It is distinguished from shaʻb (شعب [ʃæ'b]), which means a nation with common ancestry or geography. Thus, it can be said to be a supra-national community with a common history. It is a synonym for ummat al-Islām (أمة الإسلام, 'the Islamic community'), and it is commonly used to mean the collective community of Islamic people. In the Quran the ummah typically refers to a single group that shares common religious beliefs, specifically those that are the objects of a divine plan of salvation. In the context of pan-Islamism and politics, the word ummah can be used to mean the concept of a Commonwealth of the Believers (أمة المؤمنين ummat al-muʼminīn).