How late can you pray isha

Someone told me it’s good to pray ‘Isha prayer late, but on most of the websites I checked it said ‘Isha prayer can be prayed until 12 a.m. I wasn’t sure if I should pray at the time of Azan or Iqamah, or as late as possible?

Answer:

The time for ‘Isha prayer starts at Maghreb (when the sun has set and more than half the sky is dark). The time for ‘Isha ends at Islamic midnight (halfway between sunset and dawn- this is not always 12 am). If a person is separating their Maghreb and ‘Isha prayers, then the best time to pray ‘Isha is from when the twilight ends (i.e. when there is no redness left in the sky at all- this is around 90 mins after sunset) until one third of the night is over.

Imam al-Baqir (.as): “The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: If I did not fear that I would make it difficult for my community, I would have delayed the ‘Isha prayer until the third of the night. And you are allowed (to perform the prayer) until the middle of the night and this is the extremely dark part of the night…” (Wasailul Shi’a, chapter 62 from the chapters on the times, hadeeth no. 3).

Can you kindly verify or let me know when the time of ‘Ishā’ expires according to the Ḥanafī school of Islamic law?

Answer:

بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Thank you for contacting Mathabah for your question.

In response to your concern, kindly note that the timing of ‘Ishā’ lasts until the begging time of Fajr, which is at true dawn (just before fajr ṣalāh).

The famous Ḥanafī jurist, Imam Abul Ḥasan Al Qudūrī writes in his Ḥanafī fiqh manual,

“The beginning of the ‘Ishā’ time is when the twilight departs, and the end of it’s time (‘Ishā’), is as long as the second fajr (true dawn) has not appeared.” (Mukhtaṣar Al Qudūrī)

It is also worthy to note the even though the validity of ‘Ishā’ timing stretches through-out the night up until the morning true dawn, the fuqahā (jurists) have debated matters regarding the preferred timing for ‘Ishā’ prayer. On this note, kindly be aware of the following:

Ḥanafī Stance 

The Ḥanafī position is that it is mustaḥab (preferred) to delay the ‘Ishā’ prayer up to the third or just before half the night. (I’alā Al Sunan)

Ḥanbalī View

According to the Ḥanbalī school, there are two timings for ‘Ishā’;

a) waqt Ikhtiyārī (preferred time) which is from the disappearance of the twilight to passing of the first third of the night.

b) waqt dharūrah (final time) which is from the beginning of the second third of the night until true dawn . According to the Ḥanbalī view, ‘Ishā’ ṣalāh performed after the second third up until the true dawn, is considered valid and adā (fulfilled), however one will be regarded as sinful. (Al Fiqh ‘Alā Madhāhib Al Arba’ah)

Mālikī Position

The Mālikī school suggests that the waqt ikhtiyārī (preferred time) for ‘Ishā’ prayer begins from the disappearance of the evening red twilight and ends at the completion of the first third of the night, while the waqt dharūrī (final delayable time) is the timing after that up until true dawn. In the Mālikī school, however, a person will only be regarded as sinful, when performing after the first third of the night, if the individual does not have a genuine necessity to perform ṣalāh with such delay. (Al Fiqh ‘Alā Madhāhib Al Arba’ah)

Some of the above discussion regarding the preferred time for ‘Ishā’ is due to narrations such as the following:

“Had I not feared difficulty upon my nation, I would have instructed them to delay the ‘Ishā’ prayer up to the third or half of the night”. (Tirmidhī)

03 July, 2021

Q As-salamu`alaykum. I have a confusion regarding the time period until which Isha Prayer is acceptable. I believe that Isha can be prayed until the adhan for Fajr is called. But I also heard recently that praying Isha after midnight is not acceptable. Please, clarify this problem.

Answer

Sheikh Ahmad Kutty

03 July, 2021

Wa `alaykum as-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

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In this fatwa:

Isha Prayer can be delayed till after one third of the night. However, its time can be extended till before dawn for necessity.

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In his response to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:

Ideally, one should pray Isha before midnight. It is important for us to be diligent in Prayer and not put it off unnecessarily when the time arrives. Although if someone is praying Isha in congregation, it is best to delay it up to one third of the night; but it is not good to postpone it later than midnight.

This is what we can infer from the traditions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

We are told that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The (preferred) time of Isha Prayer extends to the middle part of the night.” (Abu Dawud)

There are other traditions in which the Prophet exhorts us to delay Isha: “If it wouldn’t have caused hardship on my Ummah, I would have ordered them to delay Isha.” (An-Nasa`i)

However, nowhere he told us to delay it past midnight.

In light of the traditions mentioned above and other valid inferences, scholars are of the view that ideally one should not delay Isha farther than midnight. However, if a person could not pray before midnight, he could still pray it before dawn-as the permissible time extends up-to that time.

We read in Al-Mughni of Ibn Qudamah (a scholar of the Hanbali School),

“Ideally, one should not delay Isha farther than one third of the night, if he did delay it until midnight it is fine; after midnight, it is the time of darurah (i.e. the time for those in extreme circumstances or valid excuses).”

Imam An-Nawawi (who belongs to the Shafi`i School says,

“The ideal time of Isha extends up-to one third of the night; beyond that is the permissible time; which extends to the arrival of dawn.”

The Hanafi view is almost the same as mentioned above. Thus Imam At-Tahawi (who is affiliated to the Hanafi School) states,

“The time of Isha can be divided into three: the ideal or the most preferred time extends to one third of the night; after which is the less preferable time which extends to midnight, still less preferable is the time past midnight until the arrival of dawn.”

Can I pray Isha after sleeping?

Muhammad (pbuh) encouraged his companions not to be involved in any activity after Isha prayer (darkness prayer, which is around 1.5-2 hours after sunset). The Prophet (pbuh) said, “One should not sleep before the night prayer, nor have discussions after it” [SB 574].

What is the forbidden time of prayer?

There are 3(three) times at which the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) forbade us to pray: When the sun has clearly started to rise until it is fully risen; When it is directly overhead at midday until it has passed its zenith/highest point; and. When the sun becomes pale and starts to set until it has fully set.”

How long is Isha prayer time?

The 'Isha prayer must be performed before midnight, and it is not permissible to delay it until midnight. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The time of 'Isha is until midnight” (Narrated by Muslim, al-Masaajid wa Mawadi' al-Salah, 964).