Q: [Shakir 68:16] We will brand him on the nose. [Yusufali 68:16] Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout! [Pickthal 68:16] We shall brand him on the nose.
A: It was a prophecy that was fullfilled by God through Ali's (as) sword thulfekar. To have a mark on the nose was a stigma in the those days specially among the pagan arabs even today, the nose is the most prominent part of the face, is a sign of utmost ignominy. So God in this chapter warns this man, about his future if he disists not. The verses you refers to Walid bin Mughayra on whose nose a wound he received from Ali's (as) sword in the battle of Badr it remained as a mark of shame and disgrace till his death. He is also mentioned in another part of the Quran. Once the Holy Prophet noticed that Walid bin Mughayra was sitting near the masjid, so he repeatedly recited the early verses of surah Mumin. Walid went to his people and said: "I assure you that the words I have heard can be neither of a man nor of a genie. The melody and glory of those words surpass all human abilities." Then he returned to his house. The pagans were very much worried and annoyed that their leader had become a Muslim. Abu Jahl followed Walid to his house. There he reproached Walid for his betrayal. Walid again went to the people and said: "Do you think Muhammad is mad, or a soothsayer, or a poet, or a liar?" Walid stood still for a few minutes and then said: "He is a sorcerer." The people shouted in delight and praised Walid for his conclusion. Then these verses 74:10-30 were also revealed: For the disbelievers it will not be easy. Leave ME alone to deal with him whom I created. And I gave him abundant wealth, And sons, dwelling in his presence, And equipped him with all necessary things, Yet he desires that I should give him more. Certainly not! for he was stubbornly opposed to Our Signs. I shall inflict on him an increasingly overwhelming torment. Lo! he reflected and calculated! Ruin seize him! how he calculated! Ruin seize him again! how he calculated! Then he looked around him, Then he frowned and scowled, Then he turned away and was disdainful, And said, 'This is nothing but magic handed down; 'This is nothing but the word of a man. Soon shall I cast him into the fire of Hell. And what will make thee know what Hell-fire is? It spares not and it leaves naught. It scorches the face. Holy Quran Walid was an illegitimate child and an expert mischief maker Pagan to the core he was an inveterate enemy of the Holy Prophet. He was very rich, had a large number of sons. Three of his sons embraced Islam, and the rest died. In battle he was hit on the nose with Ali's sword. In the end he died in utter misery, disgrace and poverty. There are Walids in all ages. They do not understand divine guidance and seek to explain its rational influence over the lives of intelligent men by some such meaningless formula as "magic or sorcery" or "Shirik and Bida". Their perversity can only end in the fire of punishment.
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