Sayyiduna Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I set out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when eighteen nights of the month of Ramadan had passed. When he (peace and blessings be upon him) reached al-Baqi', he saw a man having cupping (hijamah) done, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one who performs cupping and the one who has it done have both broken their fast." Imam al-Awza'i transmitted this chain with great excellence and precision and made clear that each narrator heard it from his teacher; likewise a group of trustworthy narrators corroborated him. Therefore this hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.

Sayyiduna Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him) (the freed slave of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was passing through al-Baqi' in Ramadan when he (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a man having cupping done, and he said: "The one who performs cupping and the one who has it done have both broken their fast." Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) says that this is the most authentic narration in this chapter.

Sayyiduna Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was walking in al-Baqi' in Ramadan when he saw a man having cupping (hijamah) done, and he said: "The one who performs cupping and the one who has it done have both broken their fast." These chains, in which the hearing of the trustworthy narrators is perfectly clear, cannot be faulted on account of the disagreement of those who are among the criticized (weak) narrators in narrating from Abu Qilabah and others.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one who performs cupping and the one who has it done have both broken their fast." In the narration of Ishaq al-Dabari the words "the one who seeks cupping" are also reported. Abu Bakr bin Ishaq says: I heard Abbas bin Abd al-Azim saying: I heard Ali bin al-Madini saying: I do not know any hadith more authentic than this concerning the one who performs cupping and the one who has it done.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said something similar (about the fast of the one who performs cupping and the one who has it done being broken). The student of hadith should know that, of these two chains of Yahya bin Abi Kathir, Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal judged one to be authentic and Ali bin al-Madini judged the other to be authentic; therefore one cannot be faulted on account of the other.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Shaddad bin Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by a man in al-Baqi' who was having cupping done; at that time he (peace and blessings be upon him) was holding my hand, and eighteen nights of Ramadan had passed. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one who performs cupping and the one who has it done have both broken their fast." Ishaq bin Ibrahim (Ibn Rahawayh) says that this is an authentic chain by which proof (for a legal ruling) is established. This hadith is established as authentic through several chains, and this is our position as well. May Allah Almighty be pleased with Imam Abu Ya'qub (Ishaq bin Rahawayh), who judged authentic a hadith whose authenticity is perfectly clear, and held to it.

Sayyiduna Shaddad bin Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that on the morning of the eighteenth of Ramadan the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by Sayyiduna Ma'qil bin Yasar (may Allah be pleased with him) while he was having cupping done, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one who performs cupping and the one who has it done have both broken their fast."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Shaddad bin Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) that on the seventeenth of Ramadan the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by a man who was having cupping done, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one who performs cupping and the one who has it done have both broken their fast."

Imam Ali bin al-Madini (may Allah have mercy on him) says: The narration of Sayyiduna Shaddad bin Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), that he (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a man having cupping done in Ramadan, was narrated by Asim al-Ahwal through Abu Qilabah; and Yahya bin Abi Kathir also narrated it through Abu Qilabah from Sayyiduna Thawban. I consider both of these hadiths to be nothing but authentic, for it is possible that Abu Qilabah heard this hadith from both of them (Shaddad and Thawban). As for the permission for a fasting person to have cupping done, Imam Bukhari has recorded it in his "al-Jami' al-Sahih".