Meaning
Cruel one, tyrant; affectionate-reproachful name for the merciless beloved.
Literally: tyrant; oppressor; the unjust one
Usage & notes
A zaalim is a tyrant, one who commits zulm. Iqbal pits the zaalim against the mazloom in poem after poem, prophesying that the oppressor's power is borrowed and brittle while the patience of the oppressed gathers force. He calls the faithful to refuse the zaalim's authority rather than purchase safety by servility.