Isha (), alternatively also transliterated as Isha'a, and also known as Khoftan or Khooftaan, is one of the mandatory five daily Islamic prayers, and contains four cycles.

Ahadith mentioning virtues

Uthman Uthman ibn Affan (17 June 656) was the third caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruling from 644 until his assassination in 656. Uthman, a second cousin, son-in-law, and notable companion of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, played a major role ...

reported that he heard

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

saying: "The one who offered Isha salat in a congregation, it was as if he remained in salat up to midnight, and he who offered the Fajr salat in a congregation, it was as if he remained in salat the whole night." (

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

) Abu Hurairah reported: The Messenger of Allah said, "The most difficult Salah for the ''Munafiqeen'' (the hypocrites) is Isha and Fajr. Had they known the rewards for them, they would have attended them even if they had to crawl on their knees." ( Bukhari)

Sunni Muslims

The time period within which the Isha prayer must be recited is the following: *Time begins: According to the

Hanafi The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...

school, Isha begins when complete darkness has arrived and the white

twilight Twilight is daylight illumination produced by diffuse sky radiation when the Sun is below the horizon as sunlight from the upper atmosphere is scattered in a way that illuminates both the Earth's lower atmosphere and also the Earth's surf ...

in the

sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...

has disappeared. According to the

Maliki The Maliki school or Malikism is one of the four major madhhab, schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas () in the 8th century. In contrast to the Ahl al-Hadith and Ahl al-Ra'y schools of thought, the ...

Shafi'i The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionis ...

and

Hanbali The Hanbali school or Hanbalism is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence, belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It is named after and based on the teachings of the 9th-century scholar, jurist and tradit ...

schools, the time begins when the red thread has disappeared from the sky. These times can be approximated by using the

sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

as a measure. When the sun has descended 12 degrees below the horizon, it is approximately equivalent to the disappearance of the red from the sky. Islamic rationalist are of the opinion that the time of Isha prayer starts after civil dusk, when darkness starts spreading across the sky. For approximating when complete darkness begins, some astronomers argue that it occurs when the sun has descended 15 degrees below the horizon while others use the safer measure of 18 degrees. *Time ends: At the beginning of dawn when the time for

Fajr prayer The fajr prayer, alternatively transliterated as fadjr prayer, and also known as the subh prayer, is a salah (ritual prayer) offered in the early morning. Consisting of two rak'a ("bows"), it is performed between the break of dawn and sunrise. ...

begins. However, it is frowned upon to delay the prayer without a legitimate reason past the first third of the night, and "night" in Islamic law means the time between the end of the Maghrib prayer and the start of the Fajr prayer. Islamic rationalist are of the opinion that the time of Isha prayer ends at nautical dusk, when the darkness spreads completely and the western horizon can no longer be observed through the naked eye. According to an opinion in the Maliki school, the prohibition is from delaying the prayer beyond the first half of the night, rather than just the first third.Prayer Times defined for all five prayers in a day, qul.org website
Retrieved 14 May 2017

Shia Muslims

The time period within which the Isha prayer must be recited is the following: For Shia Muslims: *Time begins: once Maghrib (evening prayer) has been recited and completed. *Time ends: at midnight, the midpoint between shafak and dawn. However, it is very important to recite the prayer as soon as the time begins. Often Maghrib and Isha are offered together with a small gap of time in between.

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External links

* * *note its the last prayer of the 5 prayers {{Authority control Salah Salah terminology

Ahadith mentioning virtues

Sunni Muslims

Shia Muslims

See also

References

External links