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How did Muhammad form the Muslim community called the ummah in Medina?

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Medina, Saudi Arabia: Prophet's Mosque — Muhammad The Prophet's Mosque, showing the green dome built above the tomb of Muhammad, Medina, Saudi Arabia.

After migrating from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE—an event known as the Hijrah—Muhammad established the ummah (the first Muslim community) by negotiating the Constitution of Medina.12

This document united the early Muslim emigrants from Mecca, known as the muhājirūn, with the local Medinan clans, called the anṣār or "helpers," into a single sociopolitical entity. Muhammad expanded his role as an arbiter to become the primary spokesperson for all residents of Medina, including local Jewish tribes.1234

The community was defined by a powerful abstract principle: membership was based on faith and piety rather than tribal lineage or wealth. To sustain this growing polity, Muhammad utilized caravan raiding to provide for his followers, which forced Medinans to take sides and solidified their identification with his fate. Through his leadership, the ummah evolved into an established, autonomous polity, with its successes—such as the victory at the Battle of Badr—interpreted as signs of divine favor.34