Tafsir of Al-Qalam 68:16

We shall assign him a mark and a sign. "Upon the snout"—that is, upon the nose. This is analogous to the usage of mishfar (lip of a camel) to describe the thick lip of a human, as we shall indicate, God Almighty willing. By this, the utmost humiliation is expressed, for a mark upon the face is a disfigurement—to the extent that the Prophet, may God Almighty bless him and grant him peace, forbade it in animals and cursed the one who performs it. How then, could it be applied to the most honorable part of the face, which is the nose, given its prominence? It has been said that beauty resides in the nose, as reflected in the words of a man of letters:

People have designated the nose as the seat of pride and zeal, deriving from it the term anfah (disdain/pride). They say, "nose for a nose," "he protected his nose," and "such-and-such is haughty of bridge." Regarding the humiliated, they say, "his nose has been docked" and "his nose has been rubbed in the dust." From this is the saying of Jarir:

In the word khurtum (snout), there is belittlement, as it is only used for the elephant and the swine. Thus, expressing the nose with this term serves to reinforce the humiliation indicated by the branding on that specific organ. The intent is: "We shall disgrace him in this world and humiliate him to the utmost degree."

That this threat pertains to this world is what is reported from Qatadah, and a group has adopted this view, though they say the meaning is: "We shall inflict upon him in this world such blame, hatred, and notoriety for evil that it will remain upon him, and will not be hidden." Thus, it will be like a mark upon the nose, fixed and evident—much like saying, "I shall tie upon you the collar of a dove," meaning: I shall fix a matter upon you that is evident within you. The mention of the "snout" adds to the beauty of this [metaphor]. The difference between this and what preceded is not hidden.

Some have said it pertains to the Hereafter. Among those who say this is a threat of something that will occur then is the one who holds that it is torture by fire upon his nose in Hell, and this is narrated from al-Mubarrad. Others, among them Abu al-'Aliyah and Muqatil—a view favored by al-Farra—have said that the intention is that his face will be blackened on the Day of Resurrection before entering the Fire, mentioning the "snout" as a figurative reference to the face.

Among those who say it occurs in this world are those who claim it is a threat regarding what befell him on the day of Badr, for he was struck on it with a sword, and a mark remained upon his snout. This is narrated from Ibn Abbas. However, it is well-known in books of history and hadith that Abu Jahl was killed on the day of Badr, and the others, except for al-Hakam, died before him; thus, none of them were branded with that mark. Likewise, it is not known that al-Hakam was branded in such a way, even if he did not die before.

According to al-Nadr ibn Shumayl, the khurtum means wine, and he cited the verse:

He claims the meaning is: "We shall apply the legal penalty (hadd) upon him for drinking it." This is refuted by the report that those disbelievers perished before the prohibition of wine, with the exception of al-Hakam, and it is not established that the hadd was applied to him; furthermore, they were not bound by the ordinances [of Islam]. There is also the matter of the awkwardness of the phrasing and the loss of the grandeur of the meaning.