DHULM - ظلم
Literally: Wrong, oppression, tyranny. To do wrong. An injustice. To tyrannize over. Wrongfulness. Persecution. Cruelty.
As an Islamic term: Deviating from as-sirât al-mustaqîm. Acting upon the way of ifrât or tafrît. Dhulm is the opposite of ‘adl which is justice.
The word dhulm derives from the same root as ظلمت (dhulmat) which means darkness. It can be said that dhulm is being deprived of the nûr of Allah and condemning one's self to darkness.
الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ : Know that as-sirât al-mustaqîm is justice (‘adl) and the summary of hikmah, ‘iffah and shajâ'ah, which are the wasat in the three degrees of each of the three powers (quwwa) of man.
To explain: Allah (‘Azza wa jalla) housed the rûh in man's changing and needy body exposed to dangers. He entrusted three powers (quwwa) to the rûh to ensure its preservation.
The First: al-quwwa ash-shahawiyyah al-bahîmiyyah, the power of animal appetite to attract benefits.
The Second: al-quwwa al-ghadhabiyyah as-sabui’yyah, the predacious power of anger to repulse harmful and destructive things.
The Third: al-quwwa al-aqliyyah al-malakiyyah, the power of mind that pertains to the malâikah to distinguish between benefit and harm.
However, in accordance with His hikmah that necessitates mankind achieving perfection through the mystery of competition, Allah did not determine limits on these powers in man’s fitrah as He did on the powers of animals. Through Sharî’ah, He determined limits on them and prohibited ifrât and tafrît and ordered the wasat. This is what is clearly ordered by the âyahفَاسْتَقِمْ كَمَٓا اُمِرْتَ 1. Since there is no fıtrî limitation in these three powers, three degrees occur in each: the degree of tafrît, which is deficiency, the degree of ifrât, which is excess, and the degree of wasat, which is justice (‘adl).
Here, the degrees of al-quwwa al-aqliyyah:
1. Tafrît in al-quwwa al-aqliyyah is gabâwah and foolishness.
2. Its ifrât is deceptive jarbaza and over-meticulousness in trivial matters.
3. Its wasat is hikmah.2 وَمَنْ يُؤْتَ الْحِكْمَةَ فَقَدْ اُو۫تِىَ خَيْرًا كَث۪يرًۜا 3
Know that just as these powers vary in these three degrees, so do each of their branches. For example, in the discussion on the creation of actions4, the wasat is the madhab of ahl al-Sunnah5 between the Jabriyya6 and the Mu'tazila7. And, about belief, the madhab of tawhîd is the wasat between the denial of the attributes or existence of Allah (ta'til) and anthropomorphism (tashbîh). The examples can be expanded according to this analogy.
The degrees of al-quwwa ash-shahawiyyah:
1. Tafrît in al-quwwa ash-shahawiyyah is khumud, which is having no longing for anything.
2. Its ifrât is fujûr, which is to desire whatever is encountered, whether halal or haram.
3. Its wasat is ‘iffah, which is desiring what is halal and shunning away what is haram.
Compare the branches of this quwwa, such as eating, drinking, clothing, and so on, with the root of this principle.
The degrees of al-quwwa al-ghadhabiyyah:
1. Tafrît in al-quwwa al-ghadhabiyyah is jabânah, which is fear of what is not to be feared and having wahm.
2. Its ifrât is tahawwur8, which is the source and father of despotism, domination and dhulm.
3. Its wasat is shajâ'ah, which is giving freely of one’s rûh with love and eagerness for the defence of the laws of Islam and upholding the Word of Tawhîd.
Compare its branches with it.
Thus, these six ifrât degrees are dhulm and the three wasat are justice (‘adl), which is as-sirât al-mustaqîm and is to act in accordance withفَاسْتَقِمْ كَمَٓا اُمِرْتَ 9. Whoever passes along this bridge of as-sirât al-mustaqîm will cross the bridge of sirât suspended over the Fire.
The Sign of Miraculousness-53
Through the decree of 10 وَلاَ تَرْكَنُوا اِلَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا فَتَمَسَّكُمُ النَّارُ , the noble âyah terrifyingly and severely threatens, not only those who support dhulm and are the tools of it but also those who incline slightly towards it. For, just as consenting to kufr is kufr, so too, consenting to dhulm is dhulm
Thus, one of the people of perfection perfectly interpreted one of the many jewels of this âyah as follows:
One who assists a dhâlim in the world is the man of despicableness
That is a dog who receives pleasure from serving the unjust hunter.
The Twenty-Eighth Letter - The Fourth Matter which is the Fourth Risale
2 (The explanation of these three degrees in the translation of Abdulmajid Nursi is as follows:
“Gabâwah means not knowing anything. Jarbaza is to have a deceptive mind to the degree that it can show bâtil as haqq and haqq as bâtil. Hikmah is the degree of the power of the mind that knows haqq as haqq and conforms to it, the bâtil as bâtil and abstains from it.”) (Tr.)
4 (The discussion on the creation of actions: The discussion on qadar and juz al-ikhtiyarî about who the creator of the actions of man and animals is.) (Tr.)
5 (The wasat explanation of ahl al-Sunnah on the matter of qadar and juz al-ikhtiyarî has been explained perfectly in the Twenty-Sixth Word, The Risale on Qadar.) (Tr.)
6 (Jabriyya: A bâtil madhab fell into dhalâlah by denying man’s juz al-ikhtiyarî and claiming that qadar controls man outside his free will and choice.) (Tr.)
7 (Mu’tazila: A bâtil madhab fell into dhalâlah by claiming that man is the owner and the creator of his actions without the interference of the qadar and the creation of Allah.) (Tr.)
8 (The explanation of tahawwur in the translation of Abdulmajid Nursi is as follows:
“The ifrât degree of it is tahawwur that he does not fear any ma’nawî or material thing.”) (Tr.)
9 (Stand firm in istiqâmah as you are commanded!)