Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear brother Burhan As salam alaikum wa rahmah tullah wa barakatuh. May Allah bless the work for which HE has made you the zarya of his guidance to mankind. Please answer some of my questions.

Q-1 I attend a madrasa of DAR UL HAFIZEEN. We are trying to revive a sunnah of HIJAMA (cupping. Please explain to me how can I convince people that it is a safe method of curing diseases, from the modern medical point of view. Bin auzubillah I have to say this because some people say that Rasool ALLAH (.s.w.s) did it because there was no modern technology then, there is no need of it now.

I know this that Quran and hadeeth are for all times. May ALLAH give me the ability to convince them. May ALLAH guide us all.

Jazak ALLAH.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Cupping

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 62 Surah Jumuaa verse 2: It is He (Allah), Who has sent amongst the Unlettered a Messenger from among themselves, to rehearse to them His Aayaats, to sanctify them, and to instruct them in Scripture and Wisdom; although they had been before in manifest error

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 48 Surah Fath verses 8-9:

8 We have truly sent thee (O Mohamed (saws)) as a witness, and as a Bringer of Glad Tidings and as a Warner:

9 In order that ye (o men) may believe in Allah and His Messenger, that ye may assist and honor Him, and celebrate His praises morning and evening.

Beloved sister in Islam, Allah Subhanah revealed the Glorious Quran as a Book of Guidance to all mankind; and sent His Messenger (saws) to convey the Message of the Merciful Lord, to rehearse to them Allah’s Revelations, to instruct them in the Scripture and Wisdom, and as a bringer of good news to the ones who believed in His Message, and as a warner to those who rejected it.

Indeed, there is absolutely no doubt that the Quran and the Sunnah of the Messenger (saws) are valid for absolutely all times and ages; but we must realize that the prime objective of these two invaluable sources of knowledge is to guide mankind to the way of life called Islam. Indeed one may gain knowledge in the fields and sciences of astronomy, commerce, geology, archeology, biology, medicine, etc. from the Quran and Sunnah; but one must realize that the mission of the Quran and Sunnah was not teach man these wordly sciences; but the mission was to guide mankind to the Straight Path of Islam.

Cupping was indeed a common practice at the time of the Prophet (saws) for curing particular diseases and indeed a practice of the Messenger of Allah (saws) and the believers. But if today, science and technology, through its experiences and experiments, have diagnosed and invented better ways of seeking treatment, it would not be correct to say that since ‘cupping’ is a Sunnah method, it should therefore be preferred over alternative or better forms of modern medical treatment.

Even when the Prophet (saws) was alive, it was not as if the people would come to him to seek a medical remedy for each of their physical ailments or sicknesses. In such cases they would seek the help of the best available medical or herbal doctors of the times. But for all matters of guidance to the Right Path, it was obligatory to follow the Quran and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws); for this spritual knowledge is not something which man can learn from experiences or experiments, but it can only be learnt from the Divine Sources of the Quran and the Sunnah.

A simple example may be derived in the example of the grafting of the date-palm trees at the time of the Prophet (saws):

Sahih Muslim Hadith 5832 Narrated by Anas ibn Malik ; Aisha

Allah's Messenger (saws) happened to pass by the people who had been busy in grafting the trees when he came to Medina. Thereupon he (saws) said: “If you were not to do it, it might be good for you.” (So they abandoned this practice) and there was a decline in the yield. He (the Prophet (saws)) happened to pass by them (and said): “What has gone wrong with your trees?” They said: “You said so and so.” Thereupon he (saws) said: “You have better knowledge (of a technical skill) in the affairs of the world.”

Sahih Muslim Hadith 5830 Narrated by Talhah ibn Ubaydullah

I and Allah's Messenger (saws) happened to pass by people near the date-palm trees. He (the Prophet (saws)) said: ‘What are these people doing?’ They said: ‘They are grafting, i.e. they combine the male with the female (tree) and thus they yield more fruit.’ Thereupon Allah's Messenger (saws) said: ‘I do not find it to be of any use.’ The people were informed about it and they abandoned this practice. Allah's Messenger (saws) (was later on) informed (that the yield had dwindled), whereupon he (saws) said: ‘If there is any use of it, then they should do it, for it was just a personal opinion of mine, and do not go after my personal opinion; but when I say to you anything on behalf of Allah, then do accept it, for I do not attribute a lie to Allah, the Exalted and Glorious.’

One cannot say that ‘cupping’ in this day and age is a revival of a Sunnah, just as one does not say that using horses for long-distance traveling, or fighting wars with swords would be a revival of the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws)! These are matters of the technical world, where man may use his knowledge, experience, and experiments and derive better ways to service his life in the world.

But in all, and I repeat, all matters of guidance to the Right Path and the salvation of the Hereafter, one cannot look into any other sources other than the Quran and the Sunnah; for this knowledge of the spiritual world is not something which man can learn from his experiences or experiments in the laboratory; but this knowledge can only be taught or obtained through the Quran and the authentic traditions of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

Having said that, if the concept of ‘cupping’ is proved by the medical doctors of the world to be the best available cure for a particular disease, there is absolutely no harm in performing it.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan