Honey, black seed, fasting, cupping. Muslims have used these for centuries. Here we look at each one honestly: what the tradition says and what modern research shows.
"A gulp of honey": what it can and can't do.
Habbat al-barakah and zaytun in the Sunnah and in studies.
Updated October 2026 · 8 min read
Hijama (الحجامة) is the best known practice of prophetic medicine. A cup is placed on the skin and the air inside is removed to create suction. In wet cupping the practitioner then makes a few very shallow cuts on the skin and applies the cup again to draw out a small amount of blood, usually well under a cup of blood in total. In dry cupping there are no cuts.
Wet cupping is often called "bloodletting", but it is not the same as the historical practice of opening a vein and removing large amounts of blood. Hijama works only on the surface of the skin.
"The best of what you treat yourselves with is hijama."
Narrated in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim"Healing is in three things: a gulp of honey, a cut of the cupper's blade, and cauterisation by fire. But I forbid my ummah from cauterisation."
Narrated in Sahih al-BukhariThe Prophet ﷺ was himself cupped and gave the cupper his fee, as recorded in the two Sahihs. A narration in Sunan Abi Dawud also encourages cupping on the 17th, 19th and 21st days of the lunar month. Hadith scholars have graded that narration as hasan, and many practitioners schedule sessions on those Hijri dates. Sihha Fit shows today's Hijri date next to the Gregorian one, so you can see where you are in the month.
Classical physicians such as Ibn al-Qayyim, in Zad al-Ma'ad, explained hijama as drawing out "excess" or stagnant blood from the surface of the body and so relieving the whole person. In that tradition it is used for:
This is a traditional explanation, not a modern physiological one. The sections below say how much of it the research supports.
Possibly, in the short term, but the evidence is weak. A few small clinical trials and some reviews report that blood pressure fell after wet cupping in people with high blood pressure. The studies are small, often short and often poorly controlled, so we cannot say how large the effect is or how long it lasts. Some of the drop may come from rest and relaxation during the session, or from the small loss of blood volume itself.
The honest summary: hijama has not been shown to be a treatment for hypertension. Never stop or reduce blood pressure medication because of cupping, and keep measuring your blood pressure at home.
Many people say they feel lighter, more energetic and less tired after a session, and this is one of the most common reasons people go back for more. Research on fatigue specifically is very limited. The more solid findings are about pain: several systematic reviews found that wet and dry cupping may reduce chronic neck pain, low back pain and knee osteoarthritis pain in the short term. The authors rate the certainty of those findings as low, mainly because it is hard to run a proper blinded trial of cupping.
Part of the benefit people feel may come from rest, touch, time set aside for yourself and the expectation of feeling better. That does not make the experience unreal, but it is a reason to stay realistic.
Speak to your doctor first if any of these apply to you:
If you are fasting, scholars have differed on whether cupping breaks the fast, and it can leave you light-headed. Many people schedule it after iftar. Ask a scholar you trust and your doctor.
This page is for general education about a traditional practice. It is not medical advice and does not diagnose or treat any condition. Talk to a qualified doctor about your own health, and do not delay treatment because of something you read here.
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