What is the last time for the Isha prayer? Is it half of the night or a third of the night? And if a woman prays a little after half of the night, an hour or two, is there a sin on her for that?

The questioner : The questioner says: What is the last time for the Isha prayer? Is it half of the night or a third of the night? And if a woman prays a little after half of the night, an hour or two, is there a sin on her for that?

The Shaykh : The time for the Isha prayer extends until half of the night, and the best time for it is between the third and the half. It is permissible to perform it before the third, from the time the red twilight disappears, but it is not permissible to delay it beyond the half. The best time is between the third and the half, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): So, if a woman is in her home and guarantees for herself that she will remain awake until half of the night, the best is for her to delay the prayer until the third of the night. If she does not guarantee that she will remain awake until half of the night, let her pray at the beginning of the time. As for what is after half of the night, it is not a time for the Fajr prayer; it is not a time of necessity nor a time of choice. This is because all the texts have defined the time of Isha as half of the night, and as far as I know up to this moment, there is no report that the time of Isha extends until the appearance of Fajr. This is what I have established, and it is the explicit meaning of the hadiths reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and it is the apparent meaning of the Noble Qur'an, as Allah the Exalted said: meaning until its half, because that is the limit of the darkness of the night. For before the half, the sun is close to the western horizon, and after the half, the sun is close to the eastern horizon. The end of the limit of the darkness of the night is the middle of the night. So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: This is an extended time from the setting of the sun, which is the middle of the day, to half of the night. In it are four prayers: the time for Zuhr is from the setting of the sun until the shadow of every object becomes equal to it, and then the time for Asr enters immediately. The time for Asr is from that time until the sun turns yellow, which is a time of choice, and then until its setting, which is a time of necessity. Then the time for Maghrib enters immediately until the time for Isha, which is the disappearance of the red twilight. Then the time for Isha enters immediately until half of the night. Then Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: So He started anew for the Fajr prayer and did not make it with the other prayers. He did not say: "Establish prayer from the setting of the sun until its rising," but He said: So He specified and defined the time. Then He said: So He separated Fajr from the times that preceded it, and He said: .

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.