Up to what time can the night (isha) prayer be performed?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The night prayer can be performed up to the time of imsak.

The time period for the night prayer:

According to the view on which fatwa is based in Hanafis, and the other madhhabs, the time for the night prayer begins with the time when red sunset glow disappears and continues up to the time just before fajr as-sadiq. 

The evidence is the following hadith reported from Abdullah Ibn Umar:

"Dusk is redness. When dusk disappears, it becomes fard to perform night (isha) prayer." (as-Sanani, ibid, I, 114)

On the other hand, the preferred time for the night prayer goes on until one-third or half of the night passes. For, the Messenger of Allah stated the following:

"If it were not difficult for my ummah, I would order them to delay the night prayer until one-third or half of the night passes."(ash-Shawkani, ibid, II,11).

Anas stated that Hz. Prophet delayed the night prayer to the middle of the night and performed it after that. (see ibid, II,12). The following is reported from Hz. Aisha:

"Once, the Prophet delayed the night prayer so much that the people in the mosque slept. Then, he came and led the prayer. He said,

'If it were not difficult for my ummah, this is the time for the night prayer.'" (Bukhari, Mawaqit, 24; ash-Shawkani, ibid, I, 12).

The beginning time for witr prayer is after the night prayer. The last time for witr is a little time before the time for the morning prayer starts. (see Hamdi Döndüren, Delilleriyle İslâm İlmihali, İstanbul 1991, 313 ff.)

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