Al hijaamah (cupping) i would like to know about its benifits. are there recommended times for one to have it done or times that one should avoid cupping?
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
assalamo alaikum
al hijaamah (cupping) i
would like to know about its benifits. are there recommended times for one to
have it done or times that one should avoid cupping?
what is the age limit for a child? can a pregnant woman do? how often (times)
or interval a person should do?
what is the reason to do the cupping with fasting and on the 17th , 19th or
21st of the
islamic calendar? pls.
explain in detail.
some one said "the cupper must also ensure that no blood reaches the
stomach of the
patient". as per
my knowledge cupping is done end of of the neck than how is it possible
the blood may reach to
stomach? i will appreciate if you clarify in details.
thanks alot. may Allah bless you for your hard work and guidance.
a sister.
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Answer:
Cupping in Islam
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.
Dear and beloved sister in Islam, the art of
‘cupping’, whereby an expert in the art removes some blood of the patient from some
specific parts of his body, was used as a remedy for certain ailments in the
times before the advent of Islam, during the time of the Prophet (saws), and
still practiced in some places today!
One must realize that Allah Subhanah did not send
His Messengers to teach arts, or sciences, or technical things which man has
the ability to learn through his experience, research, tests, discoveries,
etc.; but rather Allah sent His Messengers to guide mankind towards the Right
Path that one cannot learn or acquire through his experience, or his research,
or through tests in laboratories, or through inventions and discoveries!
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. You have better knowledge (of a technical skill) in
the affairs of the world.’
Whether or not something more beneficial than
‘cupping’ has been discovered or invented today, whether or not it is
beneficial and safe, the recommended times, whether or not it is beneficial to
a child or a pregnant woman, at what intervals can it be done, etc. are
questions best answered by one who is an expert in the technical field and
science of medicine and it is they who should be consulted when seeking these
answers.
Your Question: what is the reason
to do the cupping with fasting and on the 17th , 19th or 21st of the islamic
calendar? pls. explain in detail.
To the best of our knowledge there is nothing in
the authentic Sunnah which dictates that cupping is encouraged during the Holy
month of Ramadan or during the specific dates of 17th, 19th,
or 21st of Ramadan.
In fact, one who wishes to apply the remedy of
‘cupping’ is discouraged to do while fasting if he fears that it would
adversely effect his health or his strength and his fast would thus be
endangered.
Al-Muwatta Hadith 18.32
Malik said, "Cupping is only
disapproved of for some one who is fasting out of fear that he will become weak
and if it were not for that, it would not be disapproved of. I do not think
that a man who is cupped in Ramadan and does not break his fast, owes anything,
and I do not say that he has to make up for the day on which he was cupped,
because cupping is only disapproved of for someone fasting if his fast is
endangered. I do not think that someone who is cupped, and is then well enough
to keep the fast until evening, owes anything, nor does he have to make up for
that day."
Your Question: some one said
"the cupper must also ensure that no blood reaches the stomach of the
patient". as per my knowledge cupping is done end of of the neck than how
is it possible the blood may reach to stomach? i will appreciate if you clarify
in details.
Sunan
of Abu-Dawood Hadith 2370
The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: ‘Neither
vomiting, nor emission, nor cupping breaks the fast of the one who is fasting.’
The statements of the one who said that the blood
should not reach the stomach is baseless, as in light of the above guidance of
the Messenger of Allah (saws), cupping by itself does not invalidate one’s fast
in any way.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your brother and well
wisher in Islam,
Burhan
Wister