The time of the later Isha

Sayyiduna al-Munkadir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates about the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): One night he came out, having delayed the Isha prayer until a portion of the night had passed, while the people were waiting in the mosque. He asked: "What are you waiting for?" The people said: We are waiting for the prayer. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "For as long as you have been waiting for it, you have been counted as continuously in a state of prayer." Then he said: "Indeed, this is a prayer that none of the nations before you offered." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his head towards the sky and said: "The stars are the guardians of the sky; when the stars are extinguished, there will come to the sky what it has been promised. I am the guardian of my Companions; when I am taken, there will come to my Companions the situation they have been promised. And my Companions are the guardians of my Ummah; when my Companions are taken, there will come to my Ummah what they have been promised. O Bilal, call the iqamah."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in all three books, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says: One night the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delayed the Isha prayer. Then he came to the mosque, and the people were in the mosque waiting for the prayer. He said: "Apart from you, no followers of any religion remember Allah at this time." The narrator says: Then this verse was revealed: "They are not all alike: among the People of the Book is a community that stands and recites", until the verse reaches: "Whatever good they do, it will not be denied them, and Allah is All-Knowing of the God-fearing."
Ahmad, Abu Ya'la, al-Bazzar, and al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir recorded it.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says: One night the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed on at his home (here the narrator is in doubt about one word), and he did not come to us to lead the Isha prayer until a part of the night had passed. Then he came to us, and among us some were praying and some were lying down. He gave us glad tidings, saying: "At this time no one from the People of the Book has offered prayer." Then this verse was revealed: "They are not all alike."
The narrators of Ahmad are thiqat (trustworthy); none of them is other than trustworthy except Asim bin Abi al-Najud, and there is disagreement about using this narrator as evidence. The chain of al-Tabarani contains a narrator, Ubaydullah bin Zahr, and he is da'if (weak).

Abu al-Zubayr narrates: I asked Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him): Did you hear the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "A man is counted as being in prayer as long as he is waiting for the prayer"? He replied: Once we waited for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for the Isha prayer, and he did not come out to us until it was close to midnight, or it had reached midnight. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came and we offered the prayer. Then he said: "Remain seated." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) addressed us and said: "The people have prayed and gone to sleep, and you will continue to be counted as in a state of prayer for as long as you have been waiting for the prayer."
Ahmad and Abu Ya'la recorded it, and he added these words: "Then he said: 'Were it not for the weakness of the weak and the old age of the elderly, I would delay this prayer until the middle of the night.'" The narrators of Abu Ya'la's chain are the narrators of the Sahih.

In a report of Abu Ya'la, also narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), he narrates: We were with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). I fell asleep, then woke up; then I fell asleep, then woke up. A man from among the Muslims stood up and said: The prayer, the prayer! The narrator then mentioned the whole hadith.
This report contains al-Furat bin Abi al-Furat, whom Yahya bin Ma'in and Ibn Adi declared da'if (weak), while Abu Hatim declared him thiqah (trustworthy).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both): One night the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delayed the Isha prayer, until we fell asleep, then woke up, then fell asleep, then woke up. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had been occupied because of a delegation that had come to him. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) came out. (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: This hadith is recorded in the "Sahih", but without these words: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delayed the prayer because of the arrival of a delegation.
Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Al-Bazzar recorded this report from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both): Once the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delayed the Isha prayer. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) called out to him loudly: The women and children have fallen asleep. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) (after coming out) said: "No one among the people of the earth apart from you is waiting for this prayer."
The narrators of this report are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delayed the Isha prayer until the people in the mosque went back, except Sayyiduna Uthman bin Maz'un (may Allah be pleased with him) and some of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), numbering fifteen or sixteen, not reaching seventeen, who remained. Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I will not leave the mosque tonight until the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) comes out and I pray behind him, and I learn what matter has kept him." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came out at about a third of the night, and Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) was with him. He did not see anyone in the mosque; meanwhile the sound of these people's voices was heard from a corner of the mosque, so he walked over to them, greeted them with salam and asked: "Why have you stayed until this hour?" They said: "O Prophet of Allah, we have been waiting for you so that we may join the prayer behind you." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No nation before you has ever offered this prayer of yours, and you have been counted as in prayer all along." Then he said: "The stars are the security of the heaven; when the stars are extinguished, there will come upon the people of the heaven what they have been promised. I am the security of my Companions; when I depart, there will come upon my Companions what they have been promised. And my Companions are the security of my Ummah; when my Companions depart, there will come upon my Ummah what it has been promised." (Allamah al-Haythami says:) A hadith from this Companion is also narrated in the "Sahih" about praying Isha late, but it is other than this narration.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, and its narrators have been declared trustworthy.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin al-Mustawrid (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: One night the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was delayed, until no more than ten-odd men remained in the mosque. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came out to these people and said: "No one besides you is waiting for this prayer. Indeed, Allah Almighty has made the stars a security for the people of the heaven; when they are extinguished, what they have been promised will draw near to the people of the heaven. And Allah Almighty has made my Companions a security for my Ummah; when my Companions depart, there will come upon my Ummah what these people have been promised."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its chain contains Ibn Lahi'ah, and he is "da'if (weak)".

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Were it not for the weakness of the weak and the sickness of the sick, I would have delayed the Isha prayer."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its chain contains Muhammad bin Kurayb, who is "da'if (weak)".

A man from the tribe of Juhaynah narrates: I asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): When should I offer the Isha prayer? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When the night fills the bottom of every valley.
Imam Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators have been declared trustworthy.

Sayyidah Aishah Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about the time of the Isha prayer, and he said: When the night fills the bottom of every valley.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, and its narrators are the narrators of the "Sahih".

Sayyiduna Nu'man bin Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to offer the Isha prayer late.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, and its narrators are the narrators of the "Sahih".

Sayyidah Umm Anas (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: I said: O Messenger of Allah! Sleep overcomes me at the time of the Isha prayer. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Umm Sulaym, offer it early; when the night fills the bottom of every valley, the time of the prayer has begun, so pray, and there will be no sin upon you.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its chain contains Anbasah bin Abdul Rahman, who is matruk al-hadith (abandoned in hadith).

Sayyiduna Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) offered the Isha prayer late for nine nights (here the narrator Abu Dawud transmitted these words: he did so for eight nights), delaying it until a third of the night had passed. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: O Messenger of Allah! If you were to offer it early, it would be more suitable for our night prayers. The narrator says: After that, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to offer it early.
Imam Ahmad and Imam al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir recorded something similar; its chain contains Ali bin Zayd, about whom there is disagreement regarding narrating from him.