The discourse regarding the Interpretation of His statement, majestic is His praise: ﴿Allah mocks them﴾

Abū Jaʿfar said: Scholars differed regarding the nature of Allah's mockery—majestic is His majesty—which He mentioned He inflicts upon the hypocrites whose description He detailed. Some of them said: His mocking them is like that which He—blessed be His name—informed us He will do to them on the Day of Resurrection in His statement, the Exalted: {On the day when the hypocritical men and hypocritical women will say to those who believed, "Wait for us that we may acquire some of your light." It will be said, "Return behind you and seek light." Then a wall will be set up between them with a door, its interior containing mercy, and its exterior towards the punishment. They will call out to them, "Were we not with you?" They will say, "Yes."} [Surah al-Hadid: 13, 14]—the verse. And like that which He informed us He did to the disbelievers by His statement: {And let not those who disbelieve think that Our granting them respite is good for themselves. We only grant them respite so that they may increase in sin} [Surah Āl ʿImrān: 178]. This, and whatever is similar to it, constitutes the mockery, ridicule, scheming, and deception of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, toward the hypocrites and the people of Polytheism, according to those who hold this view and make this Interpretation.

Others said: Rather, His mocking them is His reprimand of them and His blaming them for the acts of disobedience to Allah and Disbelief in Him that they committed, just as it is said, "So-and-so has been mocked today and made fun of," meaning that people reprimand and blame him, or His destroying them and bringing devastation upon them, (1) as ʿAbīd ibn al-Abraṣ said:

Ask Ḥujr, the son of the mother of Qaṭām, concerning us, when... the thirst-quenching brown spears remained playing with him. (2)