Awareness About Ḥijāmah

As-Salāmu ‘Alaykum wa RaḥmatuLlāhi wa Barakātuh. A‘ūdhu BiLlāhi Minash-shayṭāni r-rajīm. BismiLlāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm. Wa ṣ-Salātu wa s-Salāmu ‘alá Rasūlinā Muḥammadin Sayyidi l-Awwalīna wa l-Akhirīn. Madad yā RasūlAllāh, Madad yā Sādāti Aṣḥābi RasūliLlāh, Madad yā Mashāyikhinā, Dastūr Mawlana Sheikh Abdullāh al-Fā’iz ad-Dāghistāni, Sheikh Muḥammad Nāẓim al- Ḥaqqānī. Madad. Ṭarīqatunā aṣ-Suḥbah wa l-Khayru fi l-Jam‘iyyah.

There is wisdom in everything that Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla has created; and the most perfect creation is humankind. He has given them high ranks. The human body is structurally weaker than other creatures, but with the intellect given by Allāh ﷻ, it overcomes everything else. So, nothing escapes human grasp; despite being the weakest creature physically, it is far superior to and in control of everything. Therefore, Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla gave this body with wisdom. It is good for humans to pay attention to what they eat and drink and live a healthy life. This is also in accordance with Allāh’s ﷻ command. Our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam also commanded: “Be healthy, take care of your health.”

Health, of course, comes from what we eat and drink. However, it is also necessary to protect oneself from diseases. Our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam advised two methods for treatment: one is cauterization, and the other is Ḥijāmah. Cauterization is as follows; in the past, when someone was injured, they would place a hot iron on the wound to close the opening. Besides that, there used to be people who possessed this knowledge for all kinds of illnesses, but I think there are none left now. Whatever the illness, they would cauterize the affected area with a hot object, and the illness would leave the person. But even if this knowledge exists today, it is very rare; almost no one knows it anymore.

The second is Ḥijāmah therapy. Ḥijāmah involves slightly warming the impure blood in the body and drawing it out with cups. This practice has become a trend lately. It has become very widespread among people; everyone, whether knowledgeable or not, is doing it. However, blood is a very precious thing. It is both precious and impure. Impure means that when that blood comes out, you need to wash or cleanse yourself. If it gets on your clothes, you need to wash those clothes. The issue of blood is worse than that. It is najis (impure) because it contains all kinds of microbes. Great care must also be taken to prevent the spread of disease from one person to another. Many diseases are transmitted through blood. Therefore, the blood that comes out is not considered clean; it is impure.

Furthermore, not all of the blood in the human body cleanses itself. It’s beneficial for people over 30—whether 30, 40, or 50—to have Ḥijāmah therapy once a year. As we said, nowadays, anyone who gets their hands on a pump claims to be doing Ḥijāmah. Don’t do it with a pump, because it draws all the blood, whether clean or dirty. Blood is precious; the body needs food and nutrients to produce even a single drop of blood.

Therefore, you must be careful about that. The main goal is to carefully remove only the dirty, accumulated blood. This is done by heating, not with a pump. People skilled in Ḥijāmah know this. Now, laziness has crept in; someone grabs a pump, applies it, and then says, “Oh, so much dirty blood came out!” This is not a correct method at all. There is a specific time and place for this. The best time is these seasons; spring or autumn. There are areas on the back and head where blood collects; blood is drawn from those areas. It has its experts, its masters. There is a specific day and time for it; not just anyone should do this. People shouldn’t have their blood drawn by people they don’t know or trust. Great care must be taken. We hear about all sorts of germs and diseases these days. A person might get worse while trying to get better.

Therefore, this body is a trust given to us, a trust from Allāh ﷻ. If blood is to be drawn, it must be done carefully and cleanly so that it benefits the person. Otherwise, it can cause harm instead of benefit, may Allāh ﷻ protect us. As we said, the best times for Ḥijāmah are spring and autumn. When we say spring, we don’t mean March or April, but rather months like May and June, or autumn months like October and November. It should be done once a year. However, it can be done again if needed. Now, a new custom has emerged, taking blood once a month. This is not correct; if blood is taken every month, a person will become anemic. Anemia is not a good thing. Therefore, be careful. Blood is produced from within the bones and bone marrow. The perfect creation of humankind by Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla stagnates the minds of people. Everything has its method and etiquette. Accordingly, if done with attention to the day and hour, health will be found, in shā’a Llāh. May Allāh ﷻ grant us all health and wellbeing, and may we live with īmān, in shā’a Llāh.

Wa min Allāhi t-Tawfīq. Al-Fātiḥa.

Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil ar-Rabbani 12 May 2026/ 25 Dhul Qa’dah 1447 Fajr Prayer – Akbaba Dergah, Istanbul