❖ Cupping (Ḥijāmah) Does Not Break the Fast ❖
Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori
✦ Cupping During Fasting
It is narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما:
“The Prophet ﷺ had cupping done while he was fasting.”
➤ [Bukhārī: 1938 – Book of Fasting, Chapter: Cupping and Vomiting While Fasting;
➤ Abū Dāwūd: 2372; Tirmidhī: 772; Bayhaqī: 4/268; Ibn Abī Shaybah: 2/163]
✦ The Report That Implies Invalidating the Fast
A narration from Rāfiʿ ibn Khadīj رضي الله عنه states that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“The one who cups and the one who is cupped – both have broken their fast.”
➤ [Tirmidhī: 773 – Book of Fasting, Chapter: Dislike of Cupping While Fasting;
➤ ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 7523; Ibn Khuzaymah: 1964; Ḥākim: 1/428; Bayhaqī: 4/265]
⚠ However, the stronger opinion is that this narration and others like it have been abrogated (منسوخ).
✔ Scholarly Opinion
❖ Majority of scholars – including Imām Mālik, Imām al-Shāfiʿī, and Imām Abū Ḥanīfah – are of the opinion that cupping does not break the fast.
❖ Ibn Ḥazm also holds the same view.
➤ [Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/171; Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 3/563; al-Muḥallā bi’l-Āthār: 4/335]
✦ Supporting Evidence for Permissibility
Further confirmation is found in the narration from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī رضي الله عنه:
“The Prophet ﷺ granted concession for cupping while fasting.”
➤ [Ibn Abī Shaybah: 3/51–53]
✦ Contrary Opinion
❖ Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal holds the view that cupping invalidates the fast.
➤ [Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 3/563]
But this view is not preferred, considering the clear and later authentic narration of the Prophet ﷺ cupping while fasting, indicating that the earlier prohibition was abrogated.
✅ Conclusion
➤ The stronger and majority opinion among scholars is that cupping (ḥijāmah) does not break the fast.
➤ The narrations that imply otherwise are considered abrogated.
➤ Thus, cupping is permissible during fasting, and does not affect the validity of the fast.
