Time Limit for the ‘Isha’ Prayer

The Prophet (saws) said: "The time of the Dhuhr prayer is when the sun passes the meridian and a man's shadow is of the same length as his height. It lasts until the time of the `Asr prayer. The time of the `Asr prayer is as long as the sun has not become yellow (during its setting). The time of the Maghrib prayer is as long as the twilight has not disappeared. The time of the `Ishaa prayer is up to midnight. And the time of the Fajr prayer is from the appearance of dawn as long as the sun has not risen (but when the sun rises abstain from prayer; for it rises between the two horns of Shaytaan)" [Sahih Muslim]

Narated By Abu Al-Minhal : Abu Barza said, "The Prophet used to offer the Fajr (prayer) when one could recognize the person sitting by him (after the prayer) and he used to recite between 60 to 100 Ayat (verses) of the Qur'an. He used to offer the Zuhr prayer as soon as the sun declined (at noon) and the 'Asr at a time when a man might go and return from the farthest place in Medina and find the sun still hot. (The sub-narrator forgot what was said about the Maghrib). He did not mind delaying the 'Isha prayer to one third of the night or the middle of the night. " [Sahih Bukhari]

Based on the above Hadith, one should pray `Isha before midnight, however midnight does not mean 12am, as Shaykhul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahUllah) said that the night is from when the sun sets till the start of Fajr.
So for example if Maghrib is at 5pm and Fajr is at 5am. The night is 12 hours, now we divide that in 2, which is 6 hours, so we can delay`Isha until 11pm (5pm + 6 hours).
Or an example which we can relate to more... say Maghrib is at 9pm, and Fajr is at 3am. The night is 6 hours, and half of that would be 3 hours. So we can pray `Isha until 12am.

There is the opinion deduced from taking the apparent (dhahir) meaning of the Hadith about the middle of the night that was held by Ibn Hazm, ash-Shawkani, al-Albani, and others that the permissible time is till the middle of the night, beyond which it is forbidden to delay ‘Isha’.

It is better for the Isha prayer to be delayed to its later time. The more it is delayed, the better, unless it be for a man because if a man delays it, he misses the congregational prayer, and it is not permissible for him to delay it and miss the congregational prayer. As for the women in their houses, the more they delay the Isha prayer, the better it is for them, but they should not delay it past midnight. [Shaykh Muhammad bin Saalih al-`Uthaymeen, Fatawa Islamiyah Vol. 2 Page 239]

‘Isha prayer must be performed before midnight, and it is not permissible to delay it until midnight, because the Prophet (saws) said: “The time of ‘Isha’ is until midnight” (narrated by Muslim, al-Masaajid wa Mawaadi’ al-Salaah, 964). So you have to pray it before midnight, based on the length of the night, because the night may be longer or shorter, so the guideline is how many hours the night lasts. If the night is ten hours long, then it is not permissible to delay it until the end of the fifth hour. The best way it to pray it in the first third of the night. If a person prays it at the beginning of the time for ‘Isha, that is OK, but if he delays it a little while, that is preferable, because the Messenger (saws) used to recommend delaying ‘Isha’ prayer for a little while. But if someone prays it at the beginning of its time, after the twilight – the reddish afterglow along the horizon – has vanished, there is nothing wrong with that. [Majmoo’ah Fataawa al-Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz, 10/386]

Consider also what the major scholars of the four Madhahib said:

Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi (Hambali) said in ‘al-Mughni’:
“What is more befitting – if Allah Wills – is that one does not delay it past the first third of the night. If he delays it past the middle of the night, this is permissible. What is beyond this is allowed only for necessity, and its ruling is the same as praying ‘Asr in the time of necessity (in the last portion of its allotted time)… Beyond this, the time of ‘Isha’ extends till the emergence of the second (true) Fajr.”

al-Kasani (Hanafi) said in ‘Bada’i’ as-Sana’i”:
“As for the last time for ‘Isha’, it is when the true time of Fajr comes in, according to us.”

Muhammad ‘Alish (Maliki) said in ‘Manh al-Jalil’:
“And the preferred time to pray ‘Isha’ ends with the first third of the night.”

an-Nawawi (Shafi’i) said in ‘al-Majmu”:
“What is preferred is to pray by the first third of the night. If this preferred time passes, we are left with the permissible time, which is till the time of the second (true) Fajr. This is the madhhab that has been narrated from ash-Shafi’i, and it is what has been clearcut from our companions, past and present.”

at-Tahawi (Hanafi) said in ‘Mushkil al-Athar’:
“So, the authenticity of these narrations has been established: that the time in which one can pray ‘Isha’ is from when the Sun sets, till the end of the night. However, this is divided into three categories:
a) from when it enters, to the first third of the night, and this is the best time in which to pray it, b) as for what is beyond this – till the middle of the night – this is less preferable than the first choice, and c) as for what is beyond the middle of the night, this is less preferable than the times before it.”

So, the four Madhahib interpreted the relevant Ahadith to mean that the time in which it is permissible to pray ‘Isha’ is till the time of Fajr, with the strong discouragement from delaying it past the first third of the night, let alone the middle of the night, unless one has a good excuse (such as illness, preoccupation with a task, etc.).

In conclusion, there is a difference of opinion as to whether the time limit is a matter of strict forbiddance, or merely one of preference. In any case, the safest thing to do is to not delay it past the middle of the night, as much as you are able.