Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) then passed by a piece of sharp wood that was positioned at a main road. Whenever clothing or anything else would pass the sharp wood, it would tear it and rip it apart. When Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) asked Hazrat Jibreel (‘alaihis salaam) regarding this sharp wood, he said, “This sharp wood represents the people from your ummah who lie in ambush on the side of the road so that they can waylay and rob the travelers who pass by.”

Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) then passed by a man who had gathered a large bundle of sticks. Even though the bundle was so heavy that he could not carry it, he was still gathering more sticks and adding them to the bundle. When Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) enquired from Hazrat Jibreel (‘alaihis salaam) as to whom this person was, he replied, “This is the person from your ummah who is burdened with rights and trusts that he is unable to fulfill and discharge, yet he continues to take on more responsibilities, thereby increasing his load.”

Thereafter, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) passed by a group of people whose tongue and lips were being cut off with iron scissors. As soon as their lips and tongue were cut off, they would be restored to their original condition, after which they would be cut off again, and this continued over and over again. When Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) enquired from Hazrat Jibreel (‘alaihis salaam), he said, “These are the orators and lecturers of your ummah who do not practice on what they preach to others.”

Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) then passed by a place from which an extremely cool and fragrant breeze was blowing. Hazrat Jibreel (‘alaihis salaam) said, “This is the fragrance of Jannah.” Thereafter, they passed by a place from which a stink and stench was being emitted. Hazrat Jibreel (‘alaihis salaam) said, “This is the stink and stench of Jahannum.”

Note: It would apparently seem that Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) had witnessed these amazing scenes before he arrived at Musjid-ul-Aqsa. The reason for saying this is that in the kitaabs of Hadith, all these narrations are brought immediately after the narrations mentioning Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) mounting the buraaq, but before the narrations which mention Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) arriving in Musjid-ul-Aqsa. Thus, from the sequence of the narrations, it would appear that these incidents transpired before Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) ascended to the sky from Musjid-ul-Aqsa.

(Extracted from Seeratul Mustafa 1/293-294)