What is cupping (hijama), what are the authentic hadiths mentioned concerning it, does it have specific times for its performance, and does it pose a challenge to modern medicine?

Cupping (Al-Hijamah) is the process of extracting blood from the body. It differs from phlebotomy (Al-Fasd) in that it purifies the surface of the body more effectively, while phlebotomy is better for deeper parts of the body. There are prophetic traditions that encourage cupping, among them the Hadith of Al-Isra (the Night Journey) which recommends cupping, and the Hadith about the Prophet (peace be upon him) undergoing cupping and paying the cupper. The best days for cupping are the seventeenth, nineteenth, or twenty-first of the (lunar) month. The Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned cupping as one of the causes of healing in the Hadith: "Healing is in three things: a drink of honey, a cupper's scarification, and cauterization by fire, but I forbid my nation from cauterization."