إِنَّ الَّذينَ أَجرَموا كانوا مِنَ الَّذينَ آمَنوا يَضحَكونَ

Indeed the guilty used to laugh at the faithful.

EXEGESIS

The root word of ajramū is jarama, which means to cut, and it is used to mean transgress.^{‎[1]Raghib, p. 192.}

EXPOSITION

It could be inferred from other verses of the Quran that it was not uncommon for the disbelievers to amuse and busy themselves in laughing at the believers: Indeed there was a part of My servants who would say: ‘Our Lord! We have believed. So forgive us, and have mercy on us, and You are the best of the merciful.’ But then you took them by ridicule until they made you forget My remembrance, and you used to laugh at them (23:109-110).

Verses 29-31 indicate that the disbelievers used to enjoy mocking the believers to the extent that when they got back to their people they openly shared their stories and used it as the subject of entertainment. The disbelievers had no authority to do so; it was their arrogance, vanity, and tyranny that made them laugh at the believers and ridicule their faith.^{‎[2]Amthal, 20/43.} Thus verse 29 uses alladhīna ajramū, (lit. those who have transgressed), to reference the disbelievers. This indicates that the sign of disbelief is more to do with action than words, and we can know the disbelievers by their transgressing acts.^{‎[3]Amthal, 20/42.}

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. It is narrated from the Prophet: ‘Those who ridicule people in this life, on the Day of Judgement a door of paradise will be opened to one of them and he will be told to come in; then he will come carrying his worry and stress, then when he approaches the door it gets closed in his face. Then another door will open for him and he will be told to come in; then he comes again carrying his worry and stress, but when he approaches it, the door gets closed. He continues like this until when a door opens for him he gives up and does not move towards it.’^{‎[4]Suyuti, 6/328.}

[1] Raghib, p. 192.
[2] Amthal, 20/43.
[3] Amthal, 20/42.
[4] Suyuti, 6/328.