Kalam
Senior Member
- Mar 5, 2009
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Is there an Arabic word for these oppressors ?
Seems there is little doubt as to the use of the word oppressor in this verse.
In the Arabic the word is Zâlimûn
Polytheists and wrong-doers and unjust.
Equating shirk with zulm is a Wahhabi innovation. Of the thirty or so English translations of the Qur'an with which I'm familiar, the shoddy rendering you favor is the only one to make this error, with the possible exception of the orientalist George Sale's archaic translation which uses the word "ungodly."
See "zalama" under the Za-Lam-Miim trilateral root here:
Za
Or see Dr. Shabbir Ahmed's explanation of 2:193 -
And fight the aggressors until persecution is eliminated and there remains no compulsion or coercion in religion, the freedom that Allah has ordained (2:256). Anyone accepting the DEEN of Allah must do so freely and for His sake alone. ('Lillah' = For Allah's sake alone). And if the aggressors desist, then let there be no hostility except against those who displace peace with warfare. ('Zulm' = Displace something from its rightful place = Replace good with evil = Oppression = Relegation of the Truth = Violation of human rights = Doing wrong to oneself or others).
2:254 deals unambiguously with divine judgment, and it is strictly within this context that disbelievers are considered thalimuuna - those who "fail" or are "wanting [in faith]." That this description carries no earthly significance is confirmed by 2:256 which plainly forbids compulsion in religion. You lack understanding of even the most basic Qur'anic terms. I'm afraid that the word's meaning is too broad to suit your purposes.