A
forgotten healing :
Hijaamah / cupping
Hijaamah comes from the root al-hajm,
which means “sucking”, and is used of the action of draining the
breast when an infant is suckled. Al-hajjaam is the name given to
the cupper, and hijaamah is the name given to this profession. Al-mihjam
is the name given to the tool in which blood is collected, or to the
knife used by the cupper.
Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both) reported that the
Prophet (SAW) said: “Healing is to be found in three things:
drinking honey, the knife of the cupper, and cauterization of fire.”
(Reported by al-Bukhaari, 10/136).
According to a hadeeth narrated by Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased
with him), the Prophet (SAW) said: “If there is any good in your
medical treatments, it is in the knife of the cupper, drinking
honey, or cauterization with fire, as appropriate to the cause of
the illness, but I would not like to be cauterized.” (Reported by
al-Bukhaari, 10/139)
According to a hadeeth narrated by Anas ibn Maalik, may Allaah be
pleased with him, the Prophet (SAW) said: “I did not pass by any
group on the night when I was taken on the Night Journey (Isra’),
but they said to me, ‘O Muhammad, tell your ummah to do cupping.’”
(Reported by Ibn Maajah; it has corroborating evidence which
strengthens it).
Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both) reported that the
Prophet (SAW) was treated with cupping, and he paid the cupper his
fee.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 10/124; Muslim 1202).
Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the
Messenger of Allaah was treated with cupping by Abu Tayyibah. He
commanded that he should be given two measures of food, and he spoke
with his tax-collectors, who reduced his taxes. He said, “The best
treatment you can use is cupping.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 10/126;
Muslim, 1577)
When cupping is recommended
It was reported from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them
both) that the Prophet (SAW) said: “The best times to be treated
with cupping are the seventeenth, nineteenth or twenty-first [of the
month].” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 2054; the isnaad is da’eef).
It was reported from Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with
him) that the Prophet (SAW) said: “Whoever wants to be treated by
cupping, let him do it on the seventeenth, nineteenth or
twenty-first, lest the blood flow too copiously and kill him.”
(Reported by Ibn Maajah, 3489; there is some weakness in the
report).
Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the
Prophet (SAW) said: “Whoever is treated with cupping on the
seventeenth, nineteenth or twenty first, will be healed from all
diseases.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, 3861, and al-Bayhaqi, 9/340. The
isnad is hasan).
Although the ahaadeeth quoted above are from different sources and
may be weak to some extent, they give strength to one another.
Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim (RA) said:
“These ahaadeeth coincide with what the doctors agree on, that
cupping should be done in the second half of the month, and that the
third quarter of the month is better than the beginning or the end.
But if cupping is done out of necessity it is beneficial at any
time, even at the beginning or end of the month. Al-Khallaal said:
‘Ismah ibn ‘Isaam told me: Hanbal told me: Abu ‘Abd-Allaah Ahmad ibn
Hanbal would be treated with cupping whenever his blood increased,
no matter what time it was… They disliked having cupping done on a
full stomach, because that could lead to obstruction and grievous
diseases, especially if the food was heavy and bad… Choosing the
times mentioned above for cupping is an extra precaution, to be on
the safe side and to protect one’s health, but when it comes to
treating disease, whenever it is necessary it should be used.
Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar (RA) said: “According to the doctors, the most
efficacious cupping is that which is done at the second or third
hour, after having intercourse or taking a bath, etc., and neither
on a full nor empty stomach. With regard to specific days for
administering cupping, it was reported in a hadeeth narrated from
Ibn ‘Umar by Ibn Maajah that the Prophet (SAW) said: ‘Administer
cupping, may Allaah bless you, on Thursdays, and administer cupping
on Mondays and Tuesdays, but avoid cupping on Wednesdays, Fridays,
Saturdays and Sundays.’ It was reported with two da’eef isnads, and
there is a third version, also da’eef, reported by al-Daaraqutni in
al-Afraad. He also reported it with a jayyid isnaad from Ibn ‘Umar
but it is mawqoof (the isnad stops at the Sahaabi). Al-Khallaal
reported that Ahmad disliked cupping on the days mentioned, even
though the hadeeth was not proven. It was said that a man was
treated with cupping on a Wednesday and he developed leprosy because
he ignored the hadeeth. Abu Dawood reported from Abu Bakrah that he
disliked cupping on Tuesdays, and said: “The Messenger of Allaah
(SAW) said: ‘Tuesday is the day of blood, and on that day there is
an hour when blood does not stop.’ The doctors are agreed that
cupping in the second half of the month, especially in the third
quarter, is more beneficial than cupping at the beginning or end of
the month. Al-Muwaffaq al-Baghdaadi said: The body fluids (humours)
flow heavily at the beginning of the month and calm down at the end,
so the best time to let the blood flow is in the middle of the
month.”
It is clear from the above that the ahaadeeth which specify a
particular time, when taken as a whole, indicate that there is a
basis for this, especially since the words of the doctors are in
agreement with it. If the seventeenth or nineteenth or twenty-first
of a hijri month happens to be a Thursday, this is the best possible
time for cupping, but this is not to say that it is not good to do
it at other times. As a form of medical treatment, cupping should
not be restricted to any particular time; it should be done as
needed by the patient.
It is essential to make sure that you do it properly; cupping should
be done by one who is experienced and he or she should use
instruments that are properly cleaned and sterilized. The cupper
must also ensure that no blood reaches the stomach of the patient.
We ask Allaah to help us and you to follow the Sunnah. May
Allaah(SWT) bless our Noble Prophet (SAW).
See: Fath al-Baari by Ibn Hajar, 10/149; Sharh al-Zarqaani ‘ala al-Muwatta’,
2/187; al-Mughni by Ibn Qudaamah, 1/184; al-Ma’aad by Ibn al-Qayyim,
4/60. |
