مَلِك kings in Arabic

كنت تدخل عليّ دخول الملوك على الملوك، واليوم تدخل عليّ دخول العبيد على الملوك

You used to enter upon Me like kings enter upon kings, and today you enter upon Me like slaves upon kings.

المُلُوكِ kings

al- = 'the'; muluk means 'kings' (plural) — the 'of…' word: 'of kings'.

From Adam's Descent

ملأوا مراكب الْقُلُوب مَتَاعا لَا تنْفق إِلَّا على الْملك

They filled the vessels of hearts with goods that can only be spent on the King.

الْمَلِكِ the King

In the genitive after 'on', definite — the King (God). Cargo that can be spent on none but Him.

From Stages of the Seeker

أَلَا وَإِنَّ لِكُلِّ مَلِكٍ حِمًى،

No doubt, every king has a sanctuary.

مَلِكٍ king

The owner in 'every ___', in the genitive and indefinite, 'every king' generally. It completes the fronted 'for every king [there is]...'.

From The Lawful, the Forbidden, and the Grey

فَلَمَّا سَمِعَ ذَلِكَ قَالَ مَعَاذَ اللَّهِ لَا نَقُولُ إِنَّهُ مَلِكٌ ظَالِمٌ، بَلْ نَبِيٌّ كَرِيمٌ مَنْ اتَّبَعَهُ فَهُوَ مِنَ السُّعَدَاءِ، وَكَذَلِكَ مَنْ اتَّبَعَ مُوسَى فَهُوَ كَمَنْ اتَّبَعَ مُحَمَّدًا

When he heard this, he said: 'God forbid! We do not say he is a tyrant king, but a noble prophet. Whoever follows him is among the blessed, and likewise, whoever follows Moses is like one who follows Muhammad.'

مَلِكٌ a king

This noun lacks 'the' and ends in the indefinite mark, 'a king', and is the predicate of the 'indeed he' clause. Its indefiniteness, shown by the ending, names what he is denied to be: just some king.

From Signs of the Messenger in Medina

فَكيف لَا يسلم المستعيذ بِاللَّه من الشَّيْطَان وَالْملك يذود عَنهُ بِأَمْر الْملك الديَّان

So how can the one who seeks refuge with Allah not be safe from Satan, while the angel wards him off by the command of the Sovereign, the Just?

المَلِكِ of the Sovereign

This owner noun completes the 'command of the Sovereign' pairing, so it takes the governed ending and stays definite, fixing whose command. The two nouns set directly together carry the 'of' with no separate word.

From Ten Daily Supplications

أَلا وَإِن لَك ملك حمى

Indeed, every king has a protected sanctuary.

مَلِكٍ king

Indefinite noun, 'a king', shown by its 'a/an'-style ending. It is owned by the 'every' before it, so 'every king'; the indefinite marking keeps it general, any king at all.

From Patience in Hard Times

وَعَن أبي هُرَيْرَة قَالَ الْقلب ملك والأعضاء جُنُوده

And concerning Abu Huraira, he said, 'The heart is a king and the limbs are its soldiers.'

مَلِكٌ a king

Indefinite noun, 'a king', the predicate completing 'the heart is a king'. Arabic equates two nouns with no verb 'is'; the indefinite ending keeps the predicate general, a king of some sort.

From Patience in Hard Times

فَإِذا طَابَ الْملك طابت جُنُوده وَإِذا خبث خبثت جُنُوده

If the king is sound, the soldiers are sound, and if it is corrupt, the soldiers are corrupt.

المَلِكُ the king

Definite noun, 'the king', the subject following its verb. The 'the' marks the specific king (the heart in the metaphor); Arabic's verb-first order puts it after the verb it belongs to.

From Patience in Hard Times

ويدخل فيهم الملوك والمشايخ وأهل الديوان،

This includes kings, sheikhs, and those in administrative offices.

الْمُلُوكُ kings

The 'the' makes this plural noun definite, 'the kings', and its -u ending marks it as the subject of 'is included', even though it follows the verb. It is the first group named as belonging among the authorities.

From Obedience to God and Authority