WHEN DOES 'ISHA END? |

A question many have been asking The answer to this question lies in the following two hadeeths: 1⃣. The hadeeth of 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr radhiyallahu anhu, that the Prophet ﷺ said: ((وَوَقْتُ صَلَاةِ الْعِشَاءِ إِلَى نِصْفِ اللَّيْلِ الْأَوْسَطِ)) “The time of 'Isha' prayer is until midnight.” [Reported by Muslim] 2⃣. The hadeeth of Abu Qatadah radhiyallahu anhu, that the Prophet ﷺ said: ((أَمَا إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ فِي النَّوْمِ تَفْرِيطٌ إِنَّمَا التَّفْرِيطُ عَلَى مَنْ لَمْ يُصَلِّ الصَّلاَةَ حَتَّى يَجِيءَ وَقْتُ الصَّلاَةِ الأُخْرَى)) “There is no neglect in (missing prayer unintentionally due to) sleep. Neglect is that one delays praying (intentionally) until the time of the next prayer comes in.” [Reported by Muslim] The scholars harmonised between these two seemingly contradictory hadeeths and said that 'Isha has two end times: 1⃣. Preferred time (ikhtiyaari) - which runs from the start of Isha till midnight. This is taken from the first hadeeth. 2⃣. Time of necessity (Idhtiraari) - which starts from midnight till dawn break. This is taken from the second hadeeth. For example, Al-Lajnah Ad-Daa'imah stated (6/113): ”وقت العشاء من غيبوبة الشفق الأحمر إلى نصف الليل، وهذا وقت الاختيار لها، ووقت الاضطرار من نصف الليل إلى طلوع الفجر.“ “The time for 'Isha is from the disappearance of the red twilight until midnight; and this is the preferred time (ikhtiyari), and the time of necessity (idhtirari) is from midnight until the break of dawn.” So what is the difference between these two end times? Sheikh Ibn Baz rahimahullah said: ”لو صلاها بعد نصف الليل أداها في الوقت، لكن يأثم؛ لأنه أخرها إلى وقت الضرورة.“ “If one were to pray 'Isha after midnight then he has offered it on time, but he is sinful; because he has delayed it until the time of necessity.” [Fataawa ibn Baz (10/384)] So although the prayer is valid in both cases, one is sinful for delaying 'Isha beyond the preferred time without excuse. However, if one has a valid excuse for delaying, there is no sin upon them. NOTE 1: Midnight is calculated by working out the midpoint between maghrib and Fajr. This is done by taking the time between the two points and dividing that by two. NOTE 2: Although we can work out an accurate time for midnight, it doesn't mean that one is sinful if they are 1/2 minutes over. The scholars have mentioned that there is some leniency in this regard due to the hadeeth of A'isha radhiyallahu anha, in which she said: ((أَعْتَمَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ ذَاتَ لَيْلَةٍ حَتَّى ذَهَبَ عَامَّةُ اللَّيْلِ وَحَتَّى نَامَ أَهْلُ الْمَسْجِدِ ثُمَّ خَرَجَ فَصَلَّى فَقَالَ: ”إِنَّهُ لَوَقْتُهَا لَوْلاَ أَنْ أَشُقَّ عَلَى أُمَّتِي“)) “One night the Prophet (ﷺ) delayed (observing 'Isha prayer) till much of the night had passed and the people in the masjid had fallen asleep. He ﷺ then came out and observed prayer and said: This is the proper time for it; were it not that I would impose a burden on my people (I would normally pray at this time).” [Reported by Muslim] Muhammad Ibn AbdilHaadi As-Sindi mentioned in his commentary on Sunan An-Nasa'i - under the above hadeeth: ‌‏(حتى ذهب عامة الليل) ‏ ‏أي غالبه والمتبادر منه أنه صلى بعد أن ذهب من النصف الأخير أيضا شيء. “(Till much of the night had passed) i.e. most of it, and it is very likely that he prayed after a part of the next half had also passed.”