Did any of the Sahaabah drink the blood of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly: 

Blood that has been shed is haraam and naajis. The evidence for that is in the Qur’aan and Sunnah, and there is scholarly consensus on this point.  

Allaah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Say (O Muhammad): I find not in that which has been revealed to me anything forbidden to be eaten by one who wishes to eat it, unless it be Maytah (a dead animal) or blood poured forth (by slaughtering or the like), or the flesh of swine (pork); for that surely, is impure or impious (unlawful) meat (of an animal) which is slaughtered as a sacrifice for others than Allaah (or has been slaughtered for idols, or on which Allaah’s Name has not been mentioned while slaughtering). But whosoever is forced by necessity without wilful disobedience, nor transgressing due limits; (for him) certainly, your Lord is Oft‑Forgiving, Most Merciful”

[al-An’aam 6:145]

al-Tabari (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Jaami’ al-Bayaan (8/53): 

Rijs (translated here as impure) means something that is naajis (impure) and repulsive. End quote. 

With regard to the Sunnah: It was narrated that Asma’ bint Abi Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: 

A woman came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: Menstrual blood may get onto the clothes of any one of us; what should she do with it? He said: “She should scratch it, then rub it with water, then wash it, then pray in it.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari (227) and Muslim (291). 

Al-Bukhaari included this hadeeth in a chapter entitled “Chapter on washing blood”. Al-Nawawi included it in a chapter entitled: “Chapter on the impurity of blood and how to wash it.” 

With regard to scholarly consensus, al-Nawawi said: Blood is impure, and this is the consensus of the Muslims. End quote. 

It was also narrated by al-Qurtubi in his Tafseer (2/210) and by Ibn Rushd in Bidaayat al-Mujtahid (1/79). 

Secondly: 

In some ahaadeeth it says that some of the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) drank the blood of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and in some reports it says that he approved of that, and in others it says that he denounced them. I could not find in any report the words mentioned in the question: “Prophethood has gone through you”. We will mention here these ahaadeeth and the scholars’ comments on them: 

1 – It was narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Zubayr (may Allaah be pleased with him) that he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) whilst he was being cupped, and when he has finished he said: “O ‘Abd-Allaah, take this blood and pour it away so no one will see it.” When he had departed from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), he went and drank the blood. 

He said: “O ‘Abd-Allaah, what have you done?” 

He said: “I put it in the most secret place where I thought it would be most hidden from the people.” 

He said: “Perhaps you drank it.” 

He said: “Yes.”  

He said: “Why did you drink the blood? Woe to the people because of you and woe to you because of the people.”  

Narrated by Ibn Abi ‘Aasim in al-Ahaad wa’l-Mathaani (1/414); al-Bazaar in his Musnad (6/169); al-Haakim in al-Mustadrak (3/638); al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan al-Kubra (7/67) but with the wording “because of what your people will go through because of you”; and by Ibn ‘Asaakir in Tareekh Dimashq (28/163). 

All of them narrated it via Hunayd ibn al-Qaasim from ‘Aamir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Zubayr, from his father. 

Hunayd ibn al-Qaasim’s biography appears in al-Tareekh al-Kabeer (8/249) and in al-Jarh wa’l-Ta’deel (9/121), but they did not make any comment on him. He was also mentioned by Ibn Hibbaan in al-Thiqaat (5/515) but he did not know of anyone who narrated from him other than Moosa ibn Ismaa’eel. 

Such narrators are regarded as majhool (unknown), but the hadeeth may be classed as hasan if it is there is corroborating evidence that may strengthen it. There are some reports from the scholars which indicate that he may be regarded as qawiy and his hadeeth may be accepted. 

Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said in al-Talkhees al-Habeer (1/30): 

Its isnaad includes al-Hunayd ibn al-Qaasim, and there is nothing wrong with him, but he is not well known for knowledge. End quote. 

Al-Dhahabi said in Siyar A’laam al-Nubala’ (3/366): 

I do not know of anything wrong with Hunayd ibn al-Qaasim (as a narrator). End quote. 

There is another isnaad for this hadeeth which was narrated by al-Daaraqutni (1/228) and Ibn ‘Asaakir in Tareekh Dimashq (28/162), via Muhammad ibn Humayd, who narrated from ‘Ali ibn Mujaahid, who narrated from Rabaah al-Noobi Abu Muhammad, the freed slave of the family of al-Zubayr, from Asma’ bint Abi Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with her), that she told the story of ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Zubayr, her son, drinking the blood of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in front of al-Hajjaaj, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The Fire will never touch you.” 

Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said in Talkhees al-Habeer (1/31): 

Its isnaad includes ‘Ali ibn Mujaahid, who is da’eef (weak). End quote. 

This ‘Ali ibn Mujaahid is al-Kaabuli who was regarded as a liar by Yahya ibn al-Darees and Yahya ibn Ma’een, as is stated in al-Mizaan. Al-Haafiz said of him in al-Taqreeb: He is matrook, and there is no one among the shaykhs of Ahmad who is weaker than him. Its isnaad also includes Rabaah al-Noobi. Al-Haafiz said: Some of them regarded him as layyin and it is not known who he was. 

Lisaan al-Mizaan, 2/443. 

Because of them both, al-‘Azeemabaadi regarded it as ma’lool in al-Ta’leeq al-Mughni. He said (1/425): “ ‘Ali ibn Mujaahid, Rabaah al-Noobi told us” – they are both da’eef and cannot be quoted as evidence.” 

Its isnaad also includes Muhammad ibn Humayd al-Raazi, who is da’eef, as it says in al-Taqreeb and elsewhere. 

It was also narrated in Juz’ al-Ghatreef, as was stated by Ibn Hajar in al-Isaabah (4/93) and al-Talkhees al-Habeer (1/32) – and from him by Ibn ‘Asaakir in Tareekh Dimashq (18/162). 

It was narrated from Abu Khaleefah al-Fadl ibn al-Habbaab: ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn al-Mubaarak told us: Sa’d Abu ‘Aasim the freed slave of Sulaymaan ibn ‘Ali told us from Kaysaan the freed slave of ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Zubayr, who said: Salmaan al-Faarisi told me … and he mentioned the story, including the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Zubayr: “The Fire will never touch you except as much as to fulfil the oath.” 

When taking all these reports into account, it seems that there is some basis for the story of ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Zubayr drinking the blood of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and Allaah knows best. 

2 –Safeenah, the freed slave of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 

It was narrated from Burayh ibn ‘Umar ibn Safeenah that his grandfather said: 

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was treated with cupping, then he said to me: “Take this blood and bury it where animals and birds cannot reach it”, or he said: “People and animals.” He said: So I took it away and drank it. He said: Then he asked me and I told him that I had drunk it, and he smiled. 

This was narrated by al-Bukhaari in al-Tareekh al-Kabeer (4/209); Ibn ‘Adiyy in al-Kaamil (2/64); al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan al-Kubra (7/67); and al-Tabaraani in al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer (7/81). 

All of them narrated it via Ibn Abi Fudayk from Burayh ibn ‘Umar ibn Safeenah from his father from his grandfather. 

Ibn Katheer said in al-Fusool fi’l-Seerah (300): 

It is a da’eef hadeeth because of this Burayh, whose name was Ibraaheem. He is da’eef jiddan (very weak). End quote. 

Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in al-Silsilah al-Da’eefah (1074): 

This is a weak isnaad, and there are two problems with it: 

(i)‘Umar ibn Safeenah. Al-Dhahabi said in al-Mizaan: He is not known. Abu Zur’ah said: He is sadooq (sincere). Al-Bukhaari said: Its isnaad is majhool.

Al-‘Aqeeli narrated it in al-Du’afa’ (282) and said: It is an unknown hadeeth and is only known through him.” 

(ii)His son Burayh, which is a diminutive; his real name is Ibraaheem. This was also narrated by al-‘Aqeeli (61) and he said:  This hadeeth has no corroborating evidence. Ibn ‘Adiyy said in al-Kaamil (2/64): He has a few hadeeth other than those that I have mentioned, but I could not  find anyone who spoke of him among those who spoke of men’s biographies, and his hadeeth has no corroborating reports, but I hope that there is nothing wrong with him.

Al-Dhahabi said in al-Mizaan: He was classed as da’eef by al-Daaraqutni. Ibn Hibbaan said: It is not permissible to quote him as evidence. He also said: Burayh narrated some ahaadeeth that his father did not narrate. 

The hadeeth was classed as da’eef by ‘Abd al-Haqq al-Ishbeeli in al-Ahkaam. Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar was silent about it in al-Talkhees. End quote from al-Albaani. 

3 – Saalim Abu Hind al-Hajjaam (may Allaah be pleased with him). 

Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said in al-Talkhees al-Habeer (1/30): 

Abu Na’eem narrated in Ma’rifat al-Sahaabah the hadeeth of Saalim Abu Hind al-Hajjaam who said: 

I treated the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with cupping, and when I had finished I drank it. I said: O Messenger of Allaah, I have drunk it. He said: “Woe to you, O Saalim, did you not know that blood is haraam? Do not do it again.”  

Its isnaad includes Abu’l-Hajjaaf, concerning whom there is some debate. End quote. 

4 – The slave of one of Quraysh. 

It was narrated from Naafi’ Abu Hormuz from ‘Ata’ that Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: 

The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was treated with cupping by a slave belonging to one of Quraysh. When he had finished the cupping, he took the blood and took it behind a wall, then he looked to his right and his left, and when he did not see anyone, he drank the blood until it was all gone. Then he came back. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) looked at his face and said: “Woe to you, what did you do with the blood?” I said: I hid it behind the wall. He said: “Where did you hide it?” I said: O Messenger of Allaah, your blood is too precious to spill on the ground; it is in my stomach. He said: “Go, for you have saved yourself from the Fire.”  

This was mentioned by Ibn Hibbaan in al-Majrooheen (3/59) in his biography of Naafi’ Abu Hormuz. He said: A fabricated version was narrated from ‘Ata’, and he mentioned this hadeeth. 

5 – Maalik ibn Sinaan the father of Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him) 

al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said in al-Talkhees al-Habeer (1/31): 

Concerning this topic there is a mursal hadeeth that was narrated by Sa’eed ibn Mansoor (2/221) via ‘Umar ibn al-Saa’ib, who said that he heard that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was wounded, Maalik the father of Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri, sucked the wound so that to clean it until there was no blood and the whiteness of his skin showed. It was said to him: Spit it out. He said: No, by Allaah, I will never spit it out. Then he went and fought. And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever wants to see one of the people of Paradise, let him look at this man.” Then he was martyred. End quote. 

Conclusion: Out of the reports about the Sahaabah drinking some of the blood of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), the report about ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Zubayr (may Allaah be pleased with him) is the most sound, although there is some debate about its isnaad. No other report is sound. 

Thirdly: 

How can the scholars reconcile between what is stated about blood being naajis and the idea of ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Zubayr drinking the blood of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)? 

They said: This is one of the things that applied only to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), where the ruling applied only to him and not to the rest of his ummah. There are many things that applied only to him, which have been compiled by the scholars, such as Imam al-Suyooti in his book al-Khasaa’is al-Kubra. Some of the scholars stated that the blood of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was taahir (pure), based on the story of ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Zubayr. 

See: al-Shifa (1/55), Mughni al-Muhtaaj (1/233); Tabayyun al-Haqaa’iq (4/51). But it is narrated in al-Majmoo’ (1/288) from the majority of Shaafa’is that the blood of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is naajis like any other blood. 

And Allaah knows best.