ظُلْم injustice in Arabic
ظُلْم is how you say “injustice” in Arabic.
Root ظ ل م ẓ-l-m. noun (verbal noun / maṣdar of ظَلَمَ, form I). ẓulm.
Arabic
English
The audio uses AI voices.
Meaning of injustice in Arabic
- wrongdoing, injustice, oppression most lexicologists trace it to the basic idea of putting a thing in a place not its own, i.e. misplacement — by exceeding, falling short of, or deviating from the proper measure; said to cover wrong done between man and God, man and man, and a man and himself
- loss, deprivation, or fraud inflicted on someone e.g. ẓalamahu ḥaqqahu, 'he deprived/defrauded him of his due'; also the sense in Qur'anic verses such as 'God does not wrong (deprive) anyone of the weight of an atom'
- an unreasonable demand extended use: imposing on someone a burden or claim beyond their power or ability
Example sentence
فَأقر لَهُ بِالْجَهْلِ فِي علمه، والآفات فِي عمله، والعيوب فِي نَفسه، والتفريط فِي حَقه، وَالظُّلم فِي مُعَامَلَته
So he acknowledges his ignorance in his knowledge, the flaws in his actions, the defects in his self, his negligence in his duty, and the injustice in his dealings.
وَالظُّلْمِ the injustice
wa- = 'and'; al- = 'the'; zulm means 'wrongdoing, injustice'.
The English is machine-translated.
Practise this word in the app
One tap gives you the meaning, a grammar note and audio.
Add the words you don’t know. Practise them with spaced repetition.
Free. No ads. No subscription.
An account is needed in the app.
How it is used
Classically ẓulm is the core Arabic term for injustice: lexicographers derive it from the basic sense of "misplacing" something — putting a thing where it does not belong, or exceeding/falling short of the proper measure — from which the ethical sense of wronging, oppressing, or defrauding someone develops. It appears repeatedly in the Qur'an for wrongdoing toward God, toward others, and toward oneself.
Words from the same root
- ظَلَمَ to do wrong; to wrong or treat someone unjustly (form I verb)
- ظَلْمٌ wrongdoing (a variant/parallel form of the verbal noun ẓulm)
- ظِلَامٌ the act of wronging someone; also cited as a plural of ẓulm
- ظَاْلَمَ to contend in wrongdoing with one another (form III; its verbal noun muẓālamah is glossed as 'wronging him')
More example sentences
فَيرى فِي ذَلِك فقره إِلَى ربّه، وظلمه فِي نَفسه
Thus, he sees in that his need for his Lord, and his injustice to himself.
وَظُلْمَهُ and his injustice
wa- = 'and'; zulm means 'wrongdoing'; the ending '-hu' adds 'his' — 'his wrongdoing'; a second object of 'sees'.
Common questions
- How do you say "injustice" in Arabic?
- Injustice is ظُلْم (ẓulm), from the root ظ-ل-م (ẓ-l-m).
- What is the original, literal sense behind ظُلْم؟
- Lexicographers say it primarily means putting a thing in a place that is not its own — misplacement — from which the extended sense of wrongdoing, injustice, and depriving someone of their due developed.
Related words
Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).