Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah

Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that believing women used to perform the morning prayer with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), then they would return wrapped in their cloaks, and they would not be recognized. In Ahmad's narration, there is this addition: then she mentioned the darkness (that due to the darkness, they were not recognized).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) undertook the expedition of Khaybar. Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) says: So we performed the morning prayer near it in darkness.

It is narrated from Ibn Shihab that Umar bin Abdul Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) was sitting on the pulpit when he delayed the prayer a little. So Urwah bin Zubair said that indeed Jibreel (peace be upon him) informed Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) about the timings of the prayer. So Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Be sure of what you are saying." Urwah said, "I heard Bashir bin Abi Mas'ud saying that I heard Abu Mas'ud Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) say, 'I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: Jibreel (peace be upon him) descended and informed me of the timings of the prayer, so I prayed with him, then I prayed with him again, then I prayed with him, then I prayed with him.' He counted five prayers on his fingers. And I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) perform the Zuhr prayer when the sun had declined, and sometimes he would delay it when the heat was intense. And I saw him perform the Asr prayer when the sun was high and white, before it turned yellow. So a person would finish the prayer and reach Dhul-Hulaifah before sunset. And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would perform the Maghrib prayer at the time of sunset, and the Isha prayer when the horizon became dark, and sometimes he would delay it until the people gathered. Once, he delayed the Fajr prayer until the people gathered in the darkness. Once, he performed the Fajr prayer in darkness, then another time he performed it in brightness, then after that his prayer would be in darkness until he passed away. After that, he never performed the prayer in brightness. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) said that this addition in the narration was only mentioned by Usamah bin Zaid, the narrator. In this entire hadith, there is evidence that the meaning of "shafaq" is whiteness, not redness. Because in the hadith it is mentioned that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would perform the Isha prayer when the horizon became dark. And the horizon becomes dark when the whiteness that appears after the redness disappears. Because when the redness ends, the whiteness remains after it, then when the whiteness disappears, the horizon becomes dark. And in the narration of Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him), it is mentioned that Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) gave the adhan for Isha when the whiteness of the day ended, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him, so he gave the iqamah for the prayer, then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led the prayer.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man came to the service of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and asked him about the time of prayer. Then he narrated the complete hadith regarding the times of prayer over two days and two nights. And on the first night, he said that then Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) gave the adhan for Isha when the whiteness of the day had disappeared, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him, so he gave the iqamah for prayer, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led the prayer. And regarding the second night, he said that then Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) gave the adhan for Isha when the whiteness of the day had disappeared. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delayed it, so we slept, then we slept several times. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out and said: "Indeed, the people have prayed and slept, and indeed you have been in prayer continuously from the time you have been waiting for it." Then he narrated the complete hadith.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The time for the Zuhr prayer remains until the Asr prayer. And the time for the Asr prayer remains until the sun becomes yellow, and the time for the Maghrib prayer remains until the redness of the twilight disappears. And the time for the Isha prayer remains until midnight. And the time for the Fajr prayer remains until sunrise." Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that if the words « حمرة الشفق » in this hadith are proven to be authentic, then this hadith indicates that by 'twilight' is meant redness (not whiteness), but these words have only been narrated by Muhammad bin Yazid, if he remembered them correctly. Whereas the students of Imam Shu'bah have narrated in this hadith the statement of Muhammad bin Yazid (the intensity and spread of the twilight). The Imam has narrated this from the chain of Bundar and Abu Musa. Both of them said in this narration: "And the time for Maghrib is until the intensity of the twilight disappears." They did not narrate it as a marfu' (directly attributed to the Prophet).

The Imam narrated from the chain of Muhammad bin Labeed. Shu’bah says that Qatadah narrated it once as marfu’ (attributed to the Prophet). Whereas Bundar narrated it in the same way as the aforementioned hadith. This narration was also narrated by Sa’eed bin Abi ‘Aroobah, but he did not narrate it as marfu’ and did not mention Surkhi (redness). Similarly, Ibn Abi ‘Adi narrated it from Shu’bah as mawquf (stopped at the companion), and he did not mention redness from Shu’bah. The Imam narrates another chain from Qatadah and says that therefore this hadith is mawquf and there is no mention of redness in it. Imam Abu Bakr, may Allah have mercy on him, says that it should be considered (reflected upon) that when it is not established from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that shafaq is redness, and it is established from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that the beginning time of ‘Isha is when the shafaq disappears, then the ‘Isha prayer should not be performed until the whiteness on the horizon disappears, because that which is non-existent remains non-existent until its existence is certain. Therefore, until it is certainly known that the time for prayer has arrived, prayer does not become obligatory. The performance of the obligatory act is not permissible until its obligation is certain. Because when the redness disappears and the whiteness remains, the arrival of the time for ‘Isha is not certain but doubtful. Because the scholars have differed regarding shafaq. Some say it means redness, while others say it means whiteness. And it is not established from the indication of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that shafaq means redness. And the time which is not established from the Prophet (peace be upon him) and upon which the Muslims are not agreed, then performing the prayer at that time is not obligatory, unless Allah, His Messenger, or the Muslims make it obligatory at a certain time (then it can be performed). Thus, when the whiteness remains on the horizon and the scholars have differed regarding the obligation of ‘Isha prayer at that time, and there is no evidence established from the Prophet (peace be upon him) for the obligation of prayer at that time (then prayer should not be performed at that time). Therefore, when the whiteness disappears and darkness prevails, the scholars have agreed upon the obligation of prayer at that time, so it will be permissible to perform the ‘Isha prayer at that time. And Allah knows best. Provided that the words present in the hadith of Abdullah bin Amr are proven to be authentic.