Hijamah in the Sunnah: The Healing Benefits of Cupping
The
act of performing Hijamah is
a Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and it is extensively reported in a wide
collection of authentic ahadeeth. Its practice is strongly recommended and
emphasized in a number of narrations. The practice of Hijamah forms an integral part of Islamic Prophetic
Medicine.
Hijamah was a common
practice of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his companions for the
treatment of a range of ailments as well as a form of body maintenance and
health promotion.
What is
Cupping or Hijamah?
Hijamah or cupping is a safe, non-invasive and economical
way of curing and preventing many diseases. Though Chinese use of this
method was limited to certain medical complications like lungs
infection, colds, to treat
internal organs’ disorders,
joint pain, etc, the scope of hijamah benefits is much higher than this
limit.
The word ‘hijamah’ means ‘drawing out’ in
Arabic. It is now being recognized as an alternative medicine or alternative
way of treating different diseases and bodily disorders. Modern medical science
also endorses the various benefits of hijamah and
even encourages its practice in certain diseases.
In this
non-surgical procedure, toxic or ‘bad’ blood is drawn out from the
body. Certain ‘hijamah points’ on the body are addressed
to do so. On such selected points, blood is encouraged to accumulate and
then sucked out by using a little vacuum system. The blood is made to
accumulate on the surface of the skin where minute incisions are introduced on
the skin; the blood comes out from the incisions and is collected in a cup from
where it is removed.
Benefits of
Hijamah (Cupping)
Hijamah is an ancient bloodletting
technique that has been in use in many countries to treat certain diseases or
bodily disorders. While the Chinese seems to have done a leading role in using
this bloodletting technique to treat certain diseases, the
Arabs have adopted it as a much-stressed
Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ .
The
Europeans were
also doing cupping to treat many diseases. The difference between the
Arabs or Muslims and others in doing hijamah was not hidden since while
believers were more interested to do hijamah as the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) (without
questioning about anything), others were doing it as a pure medical benefit.
The first
and top-level benefit of hijamah for a believer is the
reward he or she will get, both heavenly and worldly, after following a
stressed Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
Not only the believers but also anyone can openly observe or experience the
benefits that are bestowed on the followers of the commands of Allah SWT and
His Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). On the other
hand, when we look at this bloodletting technique from a worldly perspective,
we can find hijamah has many benefits.
It is noted
that hijamah promotes the flow of energy in the blood. It removes toxins and other waste
material from the blood. It helps fasten recovery time and people
recover from diseases much faster after hijamah. Hijamah is
known to prevent many diseases and, therefore, can be considered one of the
best preventive measures against many diseases. Moreover, it is also
noted that hijamah can help those people as
well who are under some magic spell or who
are under the influence of some evil beings.
Hijamah
has no side effects as long as performed properly.
It is also worth noting that about 70%
diseases or disorders are caused by the failure of blood to circulate properly
in the body. Furthermore, we get sick or our body
organs fail to perform healthily when our blood keep circulating loaded with toxins
and other impurities.
Unless the toxic
waste is removed from the body or from the blood, not only we do not recover
fast from a disease but also become easy victim to other diseases or
disorder.
Hijamah is the
best way to remove the toxic waste from the blood stream, and the results will
obviously be a healthy and properly functioning body. We should never
forget that this highly useful and recommended Sunnah of the Prophet SAW helps
us in controlling many diseases such as infections, hypertension, circulatory
diseases, pains, infertility, cancer, etc.
Importance
of Hijamah in the Divine Guidance
Instead of
putting our words in favor of cupping, we must see the following ahadeeth that
are enough to explain the importance of hijamah.
A Cure in Hijamah
عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ رضي الله عنهما، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ قَالَ: إِنَّ فِي الْحِجَامَةِ شِفَاءً
"Indeed, in cupping (hijama) there is a cure."
Sahih Muslim — 2205 Sunan Ibn Majah — 3476 Musnad Ahmad — 14243
The Best of Remedies
عَنْ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رضي الله عنهما، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالَ: إِنَّ خَيْرَ مَا تَدَاوَيْتُمْ بِهِ الْحِجَامَةُ
“Indeed, the best of remedies you have is hijamah
(cupping)”.
Sahih al-Bukhari — 5696 Sahih Muslim — 1577 Sunan Ibn Majah — 3476
Hijamah as a Helpful Treatment
عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ رضي الله عنه، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالَ: أَمْثَلُ مَا تَدَاوَيْتُمْ بِهِ الْحِجَامَةُ
“Hijamah is the
most helpful procedure for human beings to cure themselves”.
Sahih al-Bukhari — 5697 Sahih Muslim — 1577 Sunan Ibn Majah — 3476
The importance of hijamah in the
divine guidance can further be stressed by the following words which were
related to the Prophet SAW on the night of Israa (ascension to the heaven) by
angles:
The Command to Practise Hijamah
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ رضي الله عنه، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: يَا مُحَمَّدُ، مُرْ أُمَّتَكَ بِالْحِجَامَةِ
“O Muhammad, order your ummah (people) with hijamah
(cupping)”.
Jamiʿ al-Tirmidhi — 2053 Musnad Ahmad — 3676 Al-Muʿjam al-Awsat (al-Tabarani) — 3849
Head — headache/pain
عَنْ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رضي الله عنهما، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ احْتَجَمَ فِي رَأْسِهِ وَهُوَ مُحْرِمٌ، مِنْ وَجَعٍ كَانَ بِهِ
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is
reported to have had hijamah performed on his head for migraine
Sahih al-Bukhari — 5701
Foot — pain in the foot
عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ رضي الله عنه، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ احْتَجَمَ وَهُوَ مُحْرِمٌ، عَلَى ظَهْرِ قَدَمِهِ، مِنْ وَجَعٍ كَانَ بِهِ
on his foot after a
sprain
Sunan Abi Dawud — 1836
Neck
عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ رضي الله عنه، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ احْتَجَمَ ثَلَاثًا فِي الْأَخْدَعَيْنِ وَالْكَاهِلِ
on his neck , on his hip for hip pain [Abu
Dawud] and between
his shoulders
Al-kāhil (الكاهل), the area between/at the upper part of the shoulders
Sunan Abi Dawud — 3860
Hip — pain in the hip
عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ رضي الله عنهما، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ احْتَجَمَ عَلَى وَرِكِهِ مِنْ وَجَعٍ كَانَ بِهِ
Jabir ibn Abdullah رضي الله عنهما reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was treated with cupping on his hip because of a pain he was suffering from.
Sunan Abi Dawud — 3863
Between the shoulders / upper back
عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ رضي الله عنه، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ احْتَجَمَ ثَلَاثًا فِي الْأَخْدَعَيْنِ وَالْكَاهِلِ
Anas ibn Malik رضي الله عنه reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was cupped three times on the two sides of his neck and at the base of his neck.
Sunan Abi Dawud — 3860
Al-kāhil (الكاهل), the area between/at the upper part of the shoulders,
Hijamah Recommended by the Angels
عَنْ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رضي الله عنهما، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: مَا مَرَرْتُ بِمَلَإٍ مِنَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ لَيْلَةَ أُسْرِيَ بِي إِلَّا قَالُوا: عَلَيْكَ بِالْحِجَامَةِ يَا مُحَمَّدُ
Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported thattheProphet ﷺ said:
“I did
not pass by an angel from the angels on the night journey except that they all
said to me: Upon you is cupping (hijamah), O Muhammad.”
Sunan Ibn Majah — 3477
Hijamah as a Remedy
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رضي الله عنه، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: إِنْ كَانَ فِي شَيْءٍ مِمَّا تَدَاوَيْتُمْ بِهِ خَيْرٌ فَالْحِجَامَةُ
Abu
Hurairah (may
Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger ﷺ said,
“If there was something excellent to be used as a remedy
then it is cupping (hijamah).”
Sunan Abi Dawud — 3861 Sunan Ibn Majah — 3479
Source:
Agencies / 15 Mar 2013
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