Answer to the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) underwent cupping while fasting.

The Shaykh : But if someone were to say, "Has it not been established from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) ?" The answer is yes, but this hadith is an action among the actions of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). When his action conflicts with his statement, which takes precedence? The statement takes precedence, because the action has many possibilities. One possibility is that the action was specific to him, and although the default is that it is not specific, as is the stronger position, another possibility is that he underwent cupping while fasting a voluntary fast, and there is no blame on one who undergoes cupping for a voluntary fast, because the one fasting a voluntary fast is permitted to break his fast. Another possibility is that he underwent cupping out of dire necessity and broke his fast, but Ibn 'Abbas did not know that he had broken his fast. And another possibility is that what Ibn 'Abbas mentioned occurred before the ruling that cupping invalidates the fast was established, in which case it would be abrogated. As long as these four possibilities remain valid in the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas, and there is no doubt that they are plausible possibilities, it does not conflict with the explicit statement, which is his saying: