Tafsir of Al-Mu'minoon 23:110

{So you took them for mockery}—meaning for ridicule—{until}—they fell silent from supplicating by saying "Our Lord," and so forth—because you used to mock those who supplicated, out of fear of this day, by their saying "Our Lord, we have believed," and so forth.

{they made you forget remembrance}—by your being preoccupied with mocking them—{of Me}—meaning, of fear of My punishment on this day.

{And you used to laugh at them.}

This is the ultimate form of mockery. It is said: The causal connection is in the sense of "We have driven you away like dogs, and we did not pay attention to you when you called out, because you mocked My friends to the furthest degree when they called upon Me; and that continued from you until you forgot My remembrance entirely and did not fear My punishment, so this is your recompense."

It is also said: The gist of the verse's meaning is that a group of My servants used to call upon Me, and you became preoccupied with them, mocking them, and your preoccupation with mocking them continued until it dragged you into abandoning My remembrance in regard to My friends, and you did not fear Me while mocking them.

Then it is said: This follow-up is necessary so that the Almighty’s saying {Indeed, there was...} acts as an explanation, connecting the speech and making it consistent with His saying, Glorified be He: {And you used to laugh at them.} If this were not intended, the "forgetting of remembrance" would be extraneous in this context. It contains a great condemnation of their actions and indicates a specific exclusivity for those servants who were mocked, as was pointed out initially in His saying {from among My servants} and concluded by His saying {Indeed, I have rewarded them...} up to His saying {they are the successful ones.} He added to their ignominy by honoring their adversaries. (End of quote; it is not without room for discussion.)

Nafi’, Hamza, and al-Kisa’i read sukhrīyan (with a damma on the sin), while the rest of the seven read it with a kasra. The meaning for both is the same, which is ridicule, according to al-Khalil, Abu Zayd al-Ansari, and Sibawayh. Abu ‘Ubayda, al-Kisa’i, and al-Farra’ said: The damma on the sin means to employ someone without wages, and the kasra means mockery. Yunus said: If employment is intended, the sin is only read with a damma, but if mockery is intended, both damma and kasra are permissible. In both cases, it is a verbal noun to which the nisba ya (denoting relationship) has been added for intensity, as in ahmuriyy (very red). And His saying, the Almighty...