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

                Is it true that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was treated with cupping, one of the Sahaabah drank the blood, and the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him: “Prophethood has gone through you”? 

This was mentioned by one of the students when we were talking about blood being naajis and that it is haraam to drink it.
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.