Isha Prayer Early Time and in the Light of Ahadith
➊ It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Musa Ash’ari (may Allah be pleased with him) in a hadith where a beggar asked the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) about the times of prayer, in which it is mentioned that on the first day the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
فاقام العشاء حين غاب الشفق
“The Isha prayer is performed when the twilight disappears.”
➋ In the hadith where Angel Jibril (Gabriel) led the prayer, the time for Isha on the first day is mentioned as:
حين غاب الشفق
“When the twilight disappears.”
➊ It is narrated from Hazrat Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
وقت صلاة العشاء إلى نصف الليل
“The time for Isha prayer is until midnight.”
➋ It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
و إن آخر وقتها العشاء حين ينتصف الليل
“Indeed, the last time for Isha is until midnight.”
Scholars have differed regarding the last time for Isha prayer.
(Ahmad, Malik, Shafi’i) The last time for Isha is until one-third of the night. This is also the position of Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), Imam Qasim, and Hazrat Umar bin Abdul Aziz.
(Abu Hanifa) The last time for Isha is until midnight.
(Jumhur Tahawi) The last time for Isha is until the dawn (Fajr).
(Shawkani) The last optional time for Isha is until midnight, and the permissible and obligatory time is until Fajr.
(Nawawi) Holds the same view.
(Sayyid Sabiq) Prefers this view.
(Ibn Qudamah) The optional time is until one-third of the night, and the time of necessity is until the second dawn (Fajr Thani) rises.
(Rajih) The clear words of the hadith نصف الليل indicate the last time for Isha only until then.
(Hafiz Ibn Hajar) I have not seen any clear hadith about extending the time of Isha until Fajr.
(Ibn Arabi) The last time for Isha is until midnight.
(Abdur Rahman Mubarakpuri) The last time for Isha is until midnight.
(Siddiq Hasan Khan) Holds the same view.
(Al-Albani) The correct view is that the time for Isha is until midnight.
Those who say the time for Isha extends until Fajr base their argument on this hadith:
ليس فى النوم تفريط إنما التفريط على من لــم يـصـل الصلاة حتى يحيى وقت الأخرى
“Short sleep is not the deficiency (fault), rather the deficiency is upon the person who misses the prayer until the time of the next prayer arrives.”
The response to this is that this hadith is not for specifying or limiting the time, rather it only mentions the disobedience of a person who delays one prayer until the time of the next prayer.
