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".

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had cupping done while he (peace and blessings be upon him) was fasting. Now hear the words of the unrivalled and authoritative Imam of the people of hadith of his time concerning this hadith, so that you may arrive at the most correct position in this matter.

I heard Abu Bakr bin Ja'far al-Muzakki say: I heard Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Khuzaymah say: "The reports have been established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that 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." Some of those who oppose us in this issue have held that cupping does not break the fast, and they took as evidence the hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had cupping done while in ihram and fasting. Yet this report is not conclusive evidence that cupping does not break the fast, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had cupping done while in ihram and fasting during a journey, not while resident, since he (peace and blessings be upon him) was never in ihram while residing in his own city; rather, he was always in ihram while travelling. A traveller, even if he has intended to fast and has spent part of the day fasting, is still permitted to eat and drink, contrary to the supposition of some scholars that once a traveller has begun a fast he must complete that day's fast in every case. Therefore, since eating and drinking are permissible for the traveller on account of the concession of travel even though he has made the intention to fast, it is also permissible for him to have cupping done during part of the day while travelling, even if that cupping breaks his fast.

Abu Rafi' narrates: We went to Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) and he was having cupping done after Maghrib. I said: "Why did you not do this during the day?" He said: "Are you telling me to shed my blood while I am fasting?! I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: The one who performs cupping and the one who has it done have both broken their fast."

Imam al-Hakim says: I heard Abu Ali al-Hafiz say: I asked Abdan al-Ahwazi: Is it established that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had cupping done while fasting? He said: I heard Abbas al-Anbari say: I heard Ali bin al-Madini say: The narration of Abu Rafi' from Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) is authentic, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one who performs cupping and the one who has it done have (both) broken their fast." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it. In this chapter there are narrations from a group of Companions with reliable chains, the details of which would make this lengthy here.

Imam al-Hakim says: I heard Abu al-Hasan Ahmad bin Muhammad al-Anazi say: I heard Uthman bin Sa'id al-Darimi say: In my view the narration "The one who performs cupping and the one who has it done have broken their fast" is established as authentic because of the hadiths of Thawban and Shaddad bin Aws (may Allah be pleased with them both), and I hold this position. I also found Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal holding this position, and he used to mention that the hadith of Thawban and Shaddad was authentic in his view.