eighteen Companions, and it was also judged authentic by Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr and Ibn Ḥazm.

Al-Dhahabī remarked: His statement, “in al-Baqīʿ,” is a glaring mistake, for on the date in question the Prophet ﷺ was in Mecca—unless, that is, the word al-Baqīʿ is intended to mean “the marketplace.”

As for the ḥadith of Anas, al-Dāraquṭnī said: “All of its transmitters are trustworthy, and I know of no defect in it,” while al-Ḥāfiẓ (Ibn Ḥajar) observed: “All of its narrators are the men relied upon by al-Bukhārī.”

Among those who rejected it is the author of al-Tanqīḥ, who wrote: “This ḥadith is munkar and cannot be cited as proof, for both its text and its chain are anomalous.” Ibn al-Qayyim likewise declared it weak, noting its objectionable element: it claims that the Prophet ﷺ passed by Jaʿfar on the Day of the Conquest while he was being cupped, even though Jaʿfar had been martyred at Muʾtah before the Conquest.

Vocabulary of the ḥadith
– baʿdu: an indeclinable adverb with ḍamma because it is detached from its genitive construction while the omitted complement is still intended; i.e., it means “after that.”
– al-ḥijāmah (cupping): the verb ḥajama, yaḥjumu, ḥajman follows the pattern of qatala; with a kasra, ḥijāmah denotes the craft itself.
Al-Muḥīṭ defines it as: incising the skin with a lancet, placing in the cupping-glass a piece of burning paper, cotton, and the like, then applying it to the incision so that the blood is forcefully drawn out. Its benefit is to attract the humors to the site and to evacuate blood through strong suction.

Points derived from the ḥadith
1 – The apparent meaning of ḥadith 553 is the permissibility of cupping for a pilgrim in iḥrām, whether for Hajj or ʿUmrah, and for a fasting person, whether the fast is obligatory or supererogatory.
2 – Imām Aḥmad and other scholars of fiqh and ḥadith criticized the additional phrase “while he was fasting,” maintaining that the established wording is: “He underwent cupping while in iḥrām.”

Ibn al-Qayyim stated in Sharḥ al-Sunan: “What is firmly established is that the Prophet ﷺ underwent cupping while in iḥrām. As for the wording ‘while he was fasting,’ Imām Aḥmad said it is not authentic, and others concurred. The version found in the two Ṣaḥīḥs is: ‘while in iḥrām.’”