Were the scenes that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, saw of people being tortured during the Isra' (Night Journey) real or metaphorical? And if they were real, were they from the nation of Muhammad or from previous nations? And had their Hour (Day of Judgment) already come, and were they reckoned and admitted into Hellfire? And if they were from the nation of Muhammad, how could they be tortured when the Hour had not yet come?

It is authentically reported in Sahih al-Bukhari, in the well-known hadith of the vision narrated by Samurah, the mention of some types of torment in the Barzakh (interim period between death and resurrection). Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar mentioned in Fath al-Bari that the Isra (Night Journey) occurred multiple times, both in a state of wakefulness and in sleep, and that some disobedient individuals are tormented in the Barzakh. What supports this is what Imam Ahmad narrated in the hadith of Samurah, with the wording: "I saw on the night of my Isra a man swimming in a river and swallowing stones. So I asked: 'What is this?' It was said to me: 'He is one who consumed usury (riba).'" And among these tormented individuals are certainly people from this Ummah. On the authority of Anas, he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "I saw on the night of my Isra men whose lips were being clipped with fiery scissors. So I said: 'O Jibril, who are these?' He said: 'These are preachers from your Ummah who enjoin righteousness upon people and forget themselves, even though they recite the Book. Do they not then use their reason?'"