البغي
al-Baghy
A false or evil endeavour, spoiled by a false or evil intention, a false or evil result, or both.
What it means
Al-baghy is wrongful conduct that goes beyond its limits. Faruqi defines it as an endeavour that is false or evil because of its intention or its consequence, or both. The word can cover oppression, rebellion against rightful authority, and aggression against others. The Quran lists it with the gravest wrongs. It says that God has forbidden immoral deeds, whether open or hidden, sin, and baghy without right (7:33). Another verse says God commands justice, kindness and giving to kin, and forbids immorality, wrongdoing and baghy (16:90). The word is the reverse of ʿadl and iḥsān, which the second verse sets beside it.
Often misunderstood as
That the word means only political rebellion, when its range includes any wrongful transgression against right.
What the sources say
The jurists later used bughāt, the plural form of the same root, for those who rebel against a lawful ruler, and they set rules for dealing with them.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 25, listed as AL BAGHY. The definition is restated here.