Harman Patil (Editor)

Hijama in Pakistan

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Hijama is an alternative mode of treatment being practiced for thousands of years. The word Hijama is an Arabic word. It has been derived from Hajam, which means "to suck". In ancient times, the healers practicing Hijama used hollow horns of cattle as a suction device and they placed them over incisions to suck out the stagnant blood and sometimes to suck out the poison of snake and other insects' from body after being bitten.

This practice has been noted in Ebers Papyrus which is considered to be one of the oldest medical books written in 1550 BC in Egypt.

Hijama is called cupping therapy in English, Bakam in Indonesian, Beguan in mandarin and pachna or seengi in Urdu. This mode of treatment is practiced throughout the world including Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and to a little extent in America. The countries where Hijama is practiced widely include China, Pakistan, India, Iran, Saudi Arab, UAE, UK, Germany, Malaysia, Indonesia and many others.

Hijama has been practiced in Pakistan since 1947 but in old style and it was not common. But since 2000 its popularity has increased many folds when Dr. Amjad Ahsan Ali who was dean faculty of Medicine at Liaquat National Hospital introduced it to the masses and wrote a book about it named Al-Hijama published by Maktabatul Bushra. Dr. Amjad has trained thousands of his students in the safe practice of Hijama. Along with him some students of Abi Bakar who were from Africa and Arab also practiced Hijama in the same time frame.

Now the practice of Hijama is so wide spread in Pakistan that thousands of practitioners are practicing Hijama in only one city of Karachi.

Hijama is also popular in Punjab and Islamabad. Some practitioners have also been reported in Baluchistan and KPK but their ratio is far less than Sindh and Punjab.

People are mostly happy to have an alternative mode of treatment which is claimed to be free from side effects if practiced hygienically and besides its a sunnah treatment, means that it was employed on and recommended by the last prophet Muhammad mentioned in authentic ahadith in Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Abi Dawood, Ibn-e-Maja, Sunan Nisaai, Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal which are the most authentic books of Ahadith.

References

Hijama in Pakistan Wikipedia