Tafsir of Al-Qalam 68:16

Surah Al-Qalam (The Pen): Verse 16

سَنَسِمُهُ عَلَى الْخُرْطُومِ We shall brand him on the snout (or nose).

The First Issue: The Meaning of Wasm (Branding)

• Wasm (الوسم) means the mark left by a cauterization (branding iron) or something similar. It is said: "I branded him, so he is mawsum (branded)."
• The brand (basmah) serves as a recognizable mark, either by burning or by cutting an ear as a sign.

The Second Issue: The Meaning of Al-Khurṭūm (Snout/Nose)

• Al-Mubarrid stated that Al-Khurṭūm here means the nose.
• This term is used here as a form of contempt and derision. Using names designated for animal features to refer to human body parts is a form of mockery, just as human lips are called mashāfir (animal lips), and hands and feet are called aẓlāf (hooves) and ḥawāfir (cloven hooves).

The Third Issue: The Significance of Branding the Nose

• The face is the most honored part of the body, and the nose is the most honored part of the face because of its prominence.
• For this reason, people designated the nose as the seat of honor and protective jealousy (ḥamiyyah). From this, the word anfah (pride/dignity) is derived. They say: "He has anf in his anf (pride in his nose/dignity)," and "His nose became protective (ḥamā anfu-hu)." They also say of someone lofty: "He is high-bridged (shāmikh al-‘arnīn)."
• Conversely, they speak of the humiliated person as: "His nose was slit (juda‘a anfu-hu)" and "His nose was rubbed in the dust (rughima anfu-hu)."
• Therefore, branding (wasm) on the Khurṭūm signifies the utmost humiliation and disgrace, because a mark on the face is already a blemish (shain), so how much more so a mark on the most honored part of the face!

The Fourth Issue: When and Where the Branding Occurs

Some scholars say this branding happens in the Hereafter, while others say it happens in this world.

A. If it occurs in the Hereafter (The First View):

1. First Opinion (Attributed to Muqātil, Abū al-‘Āliyah, and chosen by Al-Farra’): The meaning is that his face will be blackened before entering the Fire. Although Al-Khurṭūm was specified for the branding, the intent is the face, because a part of the face represents the whole.
2. Second Opinion: Allah will place a sign on him in the Hereafter by which the people of the Resurrection will know that he was excessively hostile to the Messenger and denied the true religion.
3. My Third Opinion (Al-Razi's): The disbeliever escalated his enmity toward the Messenger and his slander against the true religion due to pride and arrogance (al-anfah wa al-ḥamiyyah). Since the origin of his denial was this pride, the origin of his punishment in the Hereafter will also be related to this pride. This specificity is expressed by the phrase: "We shall brand him on the snout."

B. If it occurs in this world (The Second View):

1. First Opinion: Ibn ‘Abbās said: "We will strike his nose with the sword, making that a permanent mark on his nose for as long as he lives." It is narrated that he (Al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah) was struck on the nose with a sword during the Battle of Badr.
2. Second Opinion: The meaning of this branding is that he will become famous for a bad reputation and an ugly description throughout the world. The meaning is: "We will attach something to him that will not leave him, and We will make his affair clear, so he will not be hidden, just as a brand on the snout cannot be hidden." The Arabs say of a man who is subjected to a severe, lasting insult: "He has been branded with a brand of evil (miysam sū’)," meaning a disgrace has been affixed to him that will never depart, just as a brand never fades or disappears. Jarīr said:

   When I placed My brand upon Al-Farazdaq, And upon Al-Ba‘īth I slit the nose of Al-Akhṭal. He means he branded Al-Farazdaq (and Al-Ba‘īth) and slit the nose of Al-Akhṭal with his satire—that is, he cast upon them an indelible disgrace. Undoubtedly, this immense condemnation of Al-Walīd ibn Al-Mughīrah remained throughout time, which served as a brand upon his snout. Supporting this view is the saying of those who interpreted the word "Zanīm" (in another verse) to mean he is known by evil, just as a sheep is known by its nose-ring.

3. Third Opinion (Narrated from Al-Naḍr ibn Shumayl): Al-Khurṭūm means wine. He cited poetry:

   Your day remains in amusement and merriment, While at night you are a drinker of al-kharāṭīm. Under this interpretation, the meaning of the verse is: "We shall brand him for drinking wine," though this is forced. Wine is also called al-salāfah (that which has preceded from grape juice) or because it flies into the nostrils (al-khayāshīm).

إِنَّا بَلَوْنَاهُمْ كَمَا بَلَوْنَا أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ إِذْ أَقْسَمُوا لَيَصْرِمُنَّهَا مُصْبِحِينَ * وَلَا يَسْتَثْنُونَ Indeed, We tested them just as We tested the companions of the garden, when they swore they would surely harvest its fruit in the morning, and they made no exception (i.e., did not say, 'if God wills').