طغى
Ṭaghā
To exceed all limits by seizing illegitimate power or by enforcing rules that violate the Shariah
What it means
The verb ṭaghā carries the sense of overflowing a boundary. The Quran uses it of water that rose beyond its bounds (69:11) and of Pharaoh, who is told to go to the one who “has transgressed” (20:24). It also warns that a person becomes yaṭghā when he sees himself as self-sufficient (96:6). In the sense given by Ismail al Faruqi, the word names the abuse of power: a ruler or authority assumes a right that belongs to Allah alone, or imposes prescriptions that contradict the divine law. Related words are ṭāghiyah, a tyrant, and its plural ṭughāh.
Often misunderstood as
That it is a general word for any wrongdoing, when it names the overstepping of limits by someone who holds power.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 38, listed as ṬAGHĀ. The definition is restated here.