And prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and all his Companions: He said (may Allah have mercy on him): "Chapter on the virtue of waiting for the prayer

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions:
He said (may Allah have mercy on him): "Chapter on the virtue of waiting for the prayer:
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

Everyone among you is constantly in prayer so long as the prayer detains him (for this noble objective) and nothing prevents him to return to his family but the prayer.

لا يزال أحدُكم في صلاة ما دامت الصلاة تحبسه، لا يمنعه أن ينقلب إلى أهله إلا الصلاة

Sahih Muslim 649j

Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
And it was narrated from him (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

The angels keep on asking Allah's forgiveness for anyone of you, as long as he is at his Musalla (praying place) and he does not pass wind (Hadath). They say, 'O Allah! Forgive him, O Allah! be Merciful to him.

الملائكة تصلي على أحدكم ما دام في مصلاه الذي صلى فيه، ما لم يُحدِث، تقول : اللهم اغفر له، اللهم ارحمه

Sahih al-Bukhari 445

Narrated by al-Bukhari.
And it was narrated from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him):

That the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) delayed the night prayer of 'Isha' until half of the night had passed, then he turned to us with his face after he had prayed and said: The people have prayed and slept, but you have remained in prayer since you began waiting for it

أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أخر ليلة صلاة العشاء إلى شطر الليل ثم أقبل علينا بوجهه بعد ما صلى فقال : صلى الناس ورقدوا ، ولم تزالوا في صلاة منذ انتظرتموها

Narrated by al-Bukhari".

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
These hadiths explain the virtue of waiting for the prayer, whether that is after a previous prayer or when a person goes to the mosque early to wait for the prayer. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) explained in these hadiths that as long as a person is waiting for the prayer, he is in prayer. He also explained that the angels pray for him as long as he remains in his place of prayer where he prayed, as long as he does not break his state of purity, saying: And regarding his statement: It was said: "As long as he does not commit a sin in Islam," meaning as long as he does not disobey and commit a sin. It was also said: "As long as he does not break his state of purity," because if he breaks his state of purity, the state of purity invalidates the prayer, which prevents him from being in prayer. In any case, there is evidence in this for the virtue of waiting for the prayer after the prayer, and for the virtue of waiting for the prayer even if it is not after a prayer. It is understood from this that a person should go to the mosque early.
Then he mentioned the story of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) delaying the 'Isha' prayer until half of the night: meaning that he did not finish it until the night had passed halfway. The Companions were waiting for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). When he finished his prayer, he said: : So from the time of 'Isha' until half of the night: meaning until the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed and the Companions were waiting for him, and they remained in prayer as long as they waited for the prayer.
And in this hadith there is evidence that it is better to delay the 'Isha' prayer, and that is indeed the case, unless it becomes difficult for the people or for some of them, in which case it is better to bring it forward. But if it does not become difficult, it is better to delay it.
And on this basis, if they are a group traveling or not traveling, or in a place where congregations are not held, then it is better for them to delay the prayer until near the middle of the night, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: , , and success is from Allah.