His Supplication in Suffering Acts of Wrongdoing

reward which Thou hast stored away for meand the repayment and punishmentwhich Thou has prepared for my disputant! Make this a cause of my contentmentwith what Thou hast decreedand my trustin what Thou hast chosen! 16- Amen, Lord of the worlds! Thou art of bounty aboundingand Thou art powerful over everything. In the Qur'an, it is obvious that terms like 'oppression' and 'tyranny', with their narrow political connotations, cannot begin to do justice to the wide range of meanings included in the primary Qur'anic significance, since oppression is merely one of many forms of human 'wrongdoing', an English term which is sufficiently vague and concrete to render the Qur'anic idea rather closely. According to the Qur'an, the basic meaning of dhulm is to deny the reality of God and the truth of His revelation and then to transgress the bounds, limits, laws, and statutes He has set down. This Qur'anic concept can clearly be perceived in such typical verses as the following: Who does greater wrong than he who bars God's places of worship, so that His Name be not rehearsed in them, and strives to destroy them? (2: 114); Who does greater wrong than he who conceals a testimony received from God? (2: 140); Whosoever transgresses the bounds of God - those are the wrongdoers (2: 229); And the unbelievers - they are the wrongdoers (2: 254); Whoso judges not according to what God has sent down - they are the wrongdoers (5: 45); Who does greater wrong than he who forges against God a lie, or cries lies to His signs? (7: 37, 10: 17); Who does greater wrong than he who, being reminded of the signs of his Lord, turns away from them? (18: 57, 32: 22); None denies Our signs but the wrongdoers (29: 49); Do not associate others with God; to associate others with God is a mighty wrong (31: 13); And whoso repents not, those - they are the wrongdoers (49: 1l); Whoso trespasses the bounds of God has done wrong to himself (65: 1). In most of the cases in which the Imam employs the term in the Sahifa, the Qur'anic context is clear, and this is sufficient reason to maintain consistency of translation in the present supplication, where 'oppression' might also be a valid translation. (For uses of the term in obvious Qur'anic contexts, cf. 1. 12, 4. 8, 8. 4, 12. 7, 12. 11, 16. 31, 24. 11, 31. 7, 37. 8, 39. 9, 42. 16, 45. 9, 45. 47, 47. 62, 47. 132, 48. 15, 51. 14, 60. 3, 63. 8, 71. 5; contexts which suggest 'oppression' as a valid rendering include 20. 7, 51. 4, 68. 1). The term dhulm is often used as the opposite of 'adl or 'justice'; the Sahifa also provides a few instances where 'injustice' would translate the term well, such as 22. 13 (where it is used as a synonym for jawr, translated there as 'injustice'), 25. 11, 44. l0.