He said (may Allah have mercy on him): "Chapter on the exhortation to attend the congregation for the Fajr and 'Isha' prayers: From Uthman ibn 'Affan (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

The reciter: He said (may Allah have mercy on him): "Chapter on the exhortation to attend the congregation for the Fajr and 'Isha' prayers:
From Uthman ibn 'Affan (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say:

He who observed the 'Isha' prayer in congregation, it was as if he prayed up to midnight, and he who prayed the morning prayer in congregation, it was as if he prayed the whole night.

مَن صلى العشاء في جماعة فكأنما قام نصف الليل، ومن صلى الصبح في جماعة فكأنما صلى الليل كله

Sahih Muslim 656a

Narrated by Muslim.
And in a narration by al-Tirmidhi from Uthman ibn 'Affan (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

He who attends 'Isha' in congregation, is as if he has performed Salat for half of the night; and he who attends 'Isha' and Fajr prayers in congregation, is as if he has performed Salat for the whole night.

مَن شهد العشاء في جماعة كان له قيام نصف ليلة، ومن شهد العشاء والفجر في جماعة كان له كقيام ليلة

Riyad as-Salihin 1071

Al-Tirmidhi said: This is a good, authentic hadith.
And from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

And if they knew what was in isha and subh, they would go to them even if they had to crawl.

ولو يعلمون ما في العَتَمة والصبح لأتوهما ولو حبوا

Muwatta Malik 3:3

Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
And from him (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

No Salat is more burdensome to the hypocrites than the Fajr (dawn) prayer and the 'Isha' (night) prayer; and if they knew their merits, they would come to them even if they had to crawl to do so.

ليس صلاة أثقل على المنافقين من صلاة الفجر والعشاء ، ولو يعلمون ما فيهما لأتوهما ولو حبوا

Riyad as-Salihin 1073

Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim".

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
The author al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book *Riyad al-Salihin*: "Chapter on the virtue of the 'Isha' and Fajr prayers": meaning in congregation. He specified these two prayers: the 'Isha' and Fajr prayers, because of the great reward in them. So in the hadith of Uthman ibn 'Affan (may Allah be pleased with him): : meaning as if he stood up to pray the whole night. 'Isha' is half the night and Fajr is half the night. This is a great virtue, meaning as if you were standing in prayer the whole night while you are in your bed, if you pray 'Isha' in congregation and Fajr in congregation.
And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, as in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah: : Al-'atamah: 'Isha', and Fajr is well known. If they only knew what is in them of reward and recompense, they would come to them crawling on their buttocks: meaning walking on the ground on their hands and knees, as a child crawls, because of the great reward in them.
And likewise the hadith that follows, also from Abu Hurayrah: : because the hypocrites pray for showing off and seeking fame. The 'Isha' and Fajr prayers are in darkness where they are not seen, so they come to them reluctantly. But for Zuhr, 'Asr, and Maghrib, they come because people see them, so they show off to people and do not remember Allah except a little. 'Isha' and Fajr have no showing off because it is darkness. In the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), there were no lights, no electricity, no streetlights, no oil lamps; it was darkness, so no one saw them. Thus, their attendance at 'Isha' and Fajr was heavy for them because they missed the showing off. This is from one angle.
From another angle, the 'Isha' and Fajr prayers are times of rest and sleep. In the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), people did not stay up late as people do today. They slept early after praying 'Isha'. As for Fajr, some of them, if Allah granted them the standing of the night, would stand up, and some would stand up for the Fajr prayer.
So they are heavy for the hypocrites. A person should strive to attend the 'Isha' and Fajr prayers. But the 'Isha' prayer is not better than the 'Asr prayer; the 'Asr prayer is better. For this reason, Fajr is paired with 'Asr and paired with 'Isha'. It is paired with 'Asr as mentioned before: , and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
The Fajr prayer with the 'Isha' prayer, if they are combined, is as if a person prayed the whole night, the entire night. And likewise: .
So strive, my Muslim brother, for all the prayers. Be one who maintains them, for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says: until He says: : So Allah mentioned prayer at the beginning of the noble descriptions and at the end of the noble descriptions. And He the Exalted said in Surat al-Ma'arij: And at the end of the noble descriptions He said: . By this, it is known that prayer is the greatest of deeds after the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. May Allah make me and you among those who establish prayer, give zakah, and maintain the performance of the obligations of Allah and the avoidance of the prohibitions of Allah.