The Ummah of Invitation and the Ummah of Response

Question

Do the Hindus, Parsis, Jews, Christians and others deserve to be called the ummah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ? And if the idolaters too are the ummah of the Messenger ﷺ, then what is the difference between a Muslim and a non-Muslim? And if you count the idolaters as the ummah of the Messenger ﷺ, does this supplication not then apply to them as well: [ar]اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِأُمَّةِ مُحَمَّدٍ ﷺ[/ar], whose meaning is “O Allah, forgive the ummah of Muhammad ﷺ, amin”?

Answer

To be the ummah of the Messenger ﷺ has two meanings. The first: those to whom he was sent as a prophet and whom he called. In this respect the inhabitants of every land and the followers of every religion are his ummah, for his prophethood is universal and not restricted to any people or country, as was the case with the prophethood of the earlier prophets ﵈: [ar]قُلْ يَا…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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