HIJAAMAH: CUPPING THERAPY

by Azeez Hameedah Adedoyin

INTRODUCTION

The vitality of our health as Muslims cannot be over emphasized. Islam is a religion that takes cognizance to living a healthy life and taking benefit of our active days in gathering good and doing righteous deeds before sickness sets in.

Ibn Abbas reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Take advantage of five before five: your youth before your old age, your health before your illness, your riches before your poverty, your free time before your work, and your life before your death.” Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Albani

Regardless of prioritizing our healthy and active moments over the days when illness sets in, it is enjoined upon us as Muslims to take appropriate means towards treating ourselves with strong faith of restoring good health, if Allah wills.

Narrated by Usamah Bin Shareek (may Allah be pleased with him): ‘I was with the Prophetﷺ , and some Arabs came to him asking, “O Messenger of Allah, should we take medicines for any disease?” He said, “Yes, O You servants of Allah take medicine as Allah has not created a disease without creating a cure except for one.” They asked which one. He replied “old age.”

Our religion has not left us to live life without adequate knowledge and guidance. In the line of health and medicine, Islam has taught us a holistic approach to healing the body and mind. There are numerous sayings of our noble Prophet ﷺ that educates the ummah about healthy eating, living, and healing. One of which is the hadeeth that enlightens us about hijaamah —Cupping therapy.

Jabir ibn ‘Abd-Allah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: “If there is anything good in the medicines with which you treat yourselves, it is in the incision of the hijama therapist, or a drink of honey or cauterization with fire, but I do not like to be cauterized.” (Narrated by al-Bukhari, 6583; Muslim, 2205).

HIJAAMAH- MEANING AND HISTORY

The word hijaamah comes from the word ‘hajm’ which means ‘sucking’. It refers to the extraction of blood from the body by means of applying cups with or without making an incision. If done without an incision, it is referred to as ‘Dry cupping’ . In dry cupping, cups are placed on intact skin and the aim is to simply remove blood and fluid from the site of inflammation to the surface of the skin.Wet cupping, also known as bloodletting, is when a little incision is made with a special type of lancet on the region of the skin where the cup is applied. The aim is to remove superficial blood that flows into the cup which is thought to be full of toxic chemicals.

Cupping was a prevalent practice in ancient times, and it was first discovered in the nineteenth century on the Egyptian papyrus Ebers; This was one of the oldest medical textbooks, believed to have been created in 1550 BC. In the text, bleeding from cupping is portrayed as the removal of foreign matter from the body. Furthermore, cupping evidence was discovered on Tutankhamon's (King Tut) tomb. Hippocrates [460-377 BC] and Galen [131-200 AD] were among the Greeks and Romans who inherited this art.

It was known by the Chinese, Babylonians, and Pharaohs. Their relics and carvings show that they employed cupping to treat certain ailments. Initially, they utilized metal cups or bulls' horns, sucking out the air after placing the cup on the skin. Then they used glass cups, burning a bit of cotton or wool inside to eliminate the air.

The most intriguing truth is that it was suggested by the prophet Muhammad ﷺ several thousand years ago, yet the western countries were unaware of its effects until recently.

“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, O Muhammad’” Sahih; Sunan Ibn Majah – 3477

HIJAMAH IN ISLAM

1. A forgotten sunnah

It is said that it is best to have cupping performed on the “Sunnah Days”. According to hadith “Whoever performs Hijama cupping in the 17th, 19th and 21st day (of the Islamic Lunar month), then it is a cure for every disease”. (Sahih; Sunan Ibn Majah – 3861).

2. Best of medicines

He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Cupping is the most helpful procedure for human beings to cure themselves.” (Sahih al-Bukhari º5357)

Ibn Umar reported that the Messenger ﷺ of Allah (Glorious is He and He is Exalted) said, “Hijama cupping on an empty stomach is best. It increases the intellect and improves the memory. It improves the memory of the one memorizing….” (Saheeh Sunan ibn Maajah, 3488).

The Prophet ﷺ said: “The best treatment is hijama cupping; it removes blood, lightens the back and sharpens the eyesight.” (At-Tirmidhi, 3053).

3. Sunnah points on the body

The sunnah points for hijama therapy are on the upper back which target the heart, lungs, brain and spine and all are major foundations for optimal health.

• “Hijama cupping on the back of the neck treat seventy-two kinds of ailments” (Collected by al-Tabarani)

• Anas narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to have hijama cupping done on the veins on the side of the neck and the upper back. (Sunan al-Tirmidhi).

It’s been also reported to be performed in some other parts of the body;

• Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) mentions that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was cupped on his head when he was afflicted with magic and that it is from the best of cures for this if performed correctly. [Zad al-Ma’ad (4/125-126)]

• Anas Ibn Malik reported that the Messenger had slight pain on top of his foot when he was in Ihram and he was treated with Hijamah.

MEDICAL PERSPECTIVE; THEORY AND RESEARCHED BENEFITS

BLOOD DETOXIFICATION THEORY

Although the mechanism of action of cupping cannot be fully understood, one of the proposed theories by the scientists is the ‘blood detoxification theory’.

This idea focuses on the elimination of toxins from the affected area where the cups are applied. According to the blood detoxification theory, uric acid, HDL, and LDL levels decrease, as does the molecular structure and function of hemoglobin (Hb), as well as other hematological changes. This hypothesis describes how cupping therapy's basic process removes toxins and toxic materials from the body. From a physics standpoint, the negative pressure suction produced by cupping aids in the extraction of toxins produced by purulent fluid, exudation, germs, and histolytic enzymes (Wilding et al., 2017).

BENEFITS

• There is growing evidence that cupping can promote systemic comfort and relaxation, with the accompanying rise in endogenous opioid production in the brain leading to better pain control.(Rozenfeld & Kalichman, 2016)

• Other researches stated that the primary activity of cupping therapy is to improve blood circulation and eliminate toxins and waste from the body. This could be accomplished by enhancing microcirculation, stimulating capillary endothelial cell repair, and accelerating granulation and angiogenesis in the localized tissues, so assisting in the patient's functional condition and progressive muscle relaxation(Yoo & Tausk, 2004).

• Cupping also eliminates toxic chemicals from the skin's microcirculation and interstitial compartment (Goodwin & McIvor, 2011), thereby benefiting the patient.

• Cupping may be an effective technique of lowering low density lipoprotein (LDL) in males, potentially preventing atherosclerosis (Niasari et al., 2007) and CVDs.

• Cupping is known to reduce total cholesterol and the low density lipoprotein (LDL)/high density lipoprotein (HDL) ratio.

• Cupping therapy can drastically reduce the amount of lymphocytes in the local blood associated with the affected location while increasing the number of neutrophils, which is one of the antiviral processes that reduces pain scores.

SIDE EFFECT OF CUPPING

There aren’t many side effects associated with cupping. However, a few have been identified;

• circular marks where the cups have been placed

• discoloration

• slight dizziness during treatment

• pain in the incision site

• scarring of the skin

• brusing.

More and more research in the western world is indicating that cupping may be a beneficial supplemental treatment for a wide range of symptoms and diseases. However, to reduce the risks of the side effects, it is important no one should attempt performing cupping unless they are skilled at it.

CONCLUSION

Hijaamah (Cupping) is an ancient technique for suctioning the skin using glass, plastic, or silicone cups to remove toxic substances from the body. This technique has been in existence since the time of the prophet ﷺ. It has been taught as a technique used in treating many ailments.

As muslims, it is upon us to consider taking care of our health as a responsibility, as the body is seen as a trust from Allah.

Ibn Abbas narrated that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, “There are two blessings that many people are deceived into losing: health and free time.” [Bukhari]

Living a healthy life allows us to fulfill our duties more effectively, including worship. We are encouraged to eat healthy meals and seek medical treatment when necessary.

REFERENCES

1. Hadeeth

2. Goodwin, J., & McIvor, R. A. (2011). Alternative therapy: Cupping for asthma. Chest, 139(2), 475–476. https://doi.org/10.1378/chest.10-2220

3. Hao, P., Yang, Y., & Guan, L. (2016). [Effects of bloodletting pricking, cupping and surrounding acupuncture on inflammation-related indices in peripheral and local blood in patients with acute herpes zoster]. Zhongguo Zhen Jiu = Chinese Acupuncture & Moxibustion, 36(1), 37–40.

4. Niasari, M., Kosari, F., & Ahmadi, A. (2007). The effect of wet cupping on serum lipid concentrations of clinically healthy young men: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.), 13(1), 79–82. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2006.4226

5. Rozenfeld, E., & Kalichman, L. (2016). New is the well-forgotten old: The use of dry cupping in musculoskeletal medicine. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 20(1), 173–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2015.11.009

6. Wilding, L. A., Hampel, J. A., Khoury, B. M., Kang, S., Machado-Aranda, D., Raghavendran, K., & Nemzek, J. A. (2017). Benefits of 21% Oxygen Compared with 100% Oxygen for Delivery of Isoflurane to Mice (Mus musculus) and Rats (Rattus norvegicus). Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science: JAALAS, 56(2), 148–154.

7. Yoo, S. S., & Tausk, F. (2004). Cupping: East meets West. International Journal of Dermatology, 43(9), 664–665. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-4632.2004.02224.x