Is there a time of necessity for the 'Isha' prayer?

The questioner : Regarding the time of the 'Isha' prayer.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : Some preachers have mentioned that 'Isha' has two times: a time of choice and a time of obligation. For the time of obligation, they cited the hadith: .

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : As for the story of this time of necessity, we sometimes adopt it, meaning until after the middle of the night.

The Shaykh : Before we tell you whether we adopt it or not; is this a time established by the Shari'ah?

The questioner : Based on the hadith: .

The Shaykh : Yes, what is the time of the other prayer in relation to 'Isha'?

The questioner : In relation to 'Isha', it is Fajr.

The Shaykh : Okay; and in relation to Fajr?

The questioner : The rising of the sun.

The Shaykh : No, the other prayer?

The questioner : There is no time for another prayer in relation to it.

The Shaykh : Okay; so for Zuhr.

The questioner : Fajr ends with the rising of the sun, this is well known.

The Shaykh : Yes, and 'Isha' ends with the middle of the night; what is the difference?

The questioner : No, I am conveying to you the story of the time of necessity, meaning.

The Shaykh : I understood what you intended, but do you understand what I intend? [Everyone laughs!] This hadith, my brother, was not narrated to indicate that every prayer extends to the time of the next prayer, but rather it was narrated to indicate that if a person sleeps through a prayer, he is not held accountable for it; he is only held accountable if he intentionally delays the prayer until the time of the next prayer enters. However, this was not narrated to define the times for the five prayers. So, if a man sleeps through the 'Isha' prayer until after the middle of the night, and the time of Fajr has not entered here, does that mean he should pray until the time of Fajr enters? There must be evidence here, and the evidence is missing except for the hadith you cited regarding the time of necessity. But this is also refuted against them: the man who woke up did not wake up for the Fajr prayer, and he dragged it like this until before the Zuhr prayer, so before the Zuhr prayer he is in a state of delay, so he prays it; because the time of the next prayer has not yet entered. No scholar says this at all. Therefore, we say that the time of necessity is valid for the prayers whose first and last times are defined in general, for example, the time of 'Asr and the time of Zuhr. As for the time of 'Isha', you know that the prayer differs; the 'Isha' prayer differs from all other prayers in that delaying it is better than hastening it. But this better delay is, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . This timing defined by this explicit text cannot be invalidated by a hadith like: , and so on. Otherwise, we would also invalidate with it the hadith: . So, this is not permissible, of course.