The Isha prayer ( ar, صلاة العشاء ', "night prayer") is one of the five
mandatory
Mandate most often refers to:
* League of Nations mandates, quasi-colonial territories established under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, 28 June 1919
* Mandate (politics)
In representative democracies, a mandate (or seat) ...
salah
(, plural , romanized: or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːh, ( or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːtʰin construct state) ), also known as ( fa, نماز) and also spelled , are prayers performed by Muslims. Facing the , the direction of the Kaaba wit ...
(Islamic prayer). As an Islamic day starts at sunset, the Isha prayer is technically the second prayer of the day. If counted from midnight, it is the fifth prayer of the day.
[see 'Glossary'](_blank)
Retrieved 12 July 2020[Significance of Offering The Isha Prayer and Its Benefits](_blank)
QuranReading website, Published 29 January 2015, Retrieved 14 May 2017
It is a four
rak'ah
A Rak'ah ( ar, ركعة ', ; plural: ') is a single iteration of prescribed movements and supplications performed by Muslims as part of the prescribed obligatory prayer known as salah. Each of the five daily prayers observed by Muslims consis ...
prayer in Sunni Islam. The two Sunnah rak'ah following the Isha' are highly recommended and so is the three rakat
Witr
Witr ( ar, وتر) is an Islamic prayer (''salat'') that is performed at night after ''Isha'' (night-time prayer) or before '' fajr'' (dawn prayer). Witr has an odd number of '' raka'at'' prayed in pairs, with the final raka'ah prayed separatel ...
. There are a few optional prayers that can be recited after the Isha' prayer, including the Nafilat ul-Layl prayers (together termed
tahajjud
Tahajjud, also known as the "night prayer", is a voluntary prayer performed by followers of Islam. It is not one of the five obligatory prayers required of all Muslims, although the Islamic prophet, Muhammad was recorded as performing the ta ...
), as well as the
tarawih
''Tarawih'' ( ar, تراويح, tarāwīḥ), also rendered in English as ''Taraweeh'', is derived from the Arabic root ر و ح related to rest and relaxation. Tarawih prayers are special Muslim prayers involving reading long portions of the ...
in
Ramadan
, type = islam
, longtype = Religious
, image = Ramadan montage.jpg
, caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
.
The five daily prayers collectively are one pillar of the
Five Pillars of Islam
The Five Pillars of Islam (' ; also ' "pillars of the religion") are fundamental practices in Islam, considered to be obligatory acts of worship for all Muslims. They are summarized in the famous hadith of Gabriel. The Sunni and Shia agree on ...
, in
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagre ...
, and one of the ten
Practices of the Religion
In Twelver Shia Islam, the ten Ancillaries of the Faith ( ar, فروع الدين ''furūʿ ad-dīn'', also Ten Obligatory Acts of Shi’a Islam) are the ten practices that Shia Muslims have to carry out.
According to Twelver doctrine, what is ...
(''Furū al-Dīn'') according to
Shia Islam
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, m ...
.
In
Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to:
* People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir
* Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley
* Kashmiri language, their language
People with the name
* Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...
, it is known as ''Khoftan Nemaz''. Likewise in
Punjabi, it is called ''Khuftaan di namaz''.
Ahadith mentioning virtues
Uthman
Uthman ibn Affan ( ar, عثمان بن عفان, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān; – 17 June 656), also spelled by Colloquial Arabic, Turkish and Persian rendering Osman, was a second cousin, son-in-law and notable companion of the Islamic proph ...
reported that he heard
Muhammad 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 ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
)
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 Bukhari or Bokhari () means "from Bukhara (Uzbekistan)" in Persian, Arabic, Urdu and Hebrew, and may refer to:
People
* al-Bukhari (810–870), Islamic hadith scholar and author of the
* Bukhari Daud (1959–2021), Indonesian academician and re ...
)
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 ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named aft ...
school, Isha begins when complete darkness has arrived and the white
twilight
Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this il ...
in the
sky
The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space.
In the field of astronomy, ...
has disappeared. According to the
Maliki
The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary ...
,
Shafi'i
The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...
and
hanbali
The Hanbali school ( ar, ٱلْمَذْهَب ٱلْحَنۢبَلِي, al-maḏhab al-ḥanbalī) is one of the four major traditional Sunni schools (''madhahib'') of Islamic jurisprudence. It is named after the Arab scholar Ahmad ibn Hanbal ...
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 center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
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. 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 ( ar, صلاة الفجر ', "dawn prayer") is one of the five mandatory salah (Islamic prayer), to be performed anytime starting from the moment of dawn, but not after sunrise. As an Islamic day starts at sunset, the Fajr praye ...
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. 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:
*Time begins: once Maghrib
The Maghrib Prayer ( ar, صلاة المغرب ', "sunset prayer") is one of the five mandatory salah (Islamic prayer). As an Islamic day starts at sunset, the Maghrib prayer is technically the first prayer of the day. If counted from midni ...
(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.
]
See also
*Salah
(, plural , romanized: or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːh, ( or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːtʰin construct state) ), also known as ( fa, نماز) and also spelled , are prayers performed by Muslims. Facing the , the direction of the Kaaba wit ...
(Prayer)
*Wudu
Wuḍūʾ ( ar, الوضوء ' ) is the Islamic procedure for cleansing parts of the body, a type of ritual purification, or ablution. The 4 Fardh (Mandatory) acts of ''Wudu'' consists of washing the face, arms, then wiping the head and the feet ...
(Washing of some body parts to prepare oneself for praying)
*Other salah
(, plural , romanized: or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːh, ( or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːtʰin construct state) ), also known as ( fa, نماز) and also spelled , are prayers performed by Muslims. Facing the , the direction of the Kaaba wit ...
:
**Fajr prayer
The Fajr prayer ( ar, صلاة الفجر ', "dawn prayer") is one of the five mandatory salah (Islamic prayer), to be performed anytime starting from the moment of dawn, but not after sunrise. As an Islamic day starts at sunset, the Fajr praye ...
(Morning)
**Zuhr prayer
The Zuhr prayer ( ar, صَلَاة ٱلظُّهْر ', "noon prayer") is one of the five mandatory salah (Islamic prayer). As an Islamic day starts at sunset, the Zuhr prayer is technically the fourth prayer of the day.Asr prayer
The Asr prayer ( ar, صلاة العصر ', "afternoon prayer") is one of the five mandatory salah (Islamic prayer). As an Islamic day starts at sunset, the Asr prayer is technically the fifth prayer of the day. If counted from midnight, it i ...
(Afternoon)
** Maghrib prayer (Sunset prayer)
*Dhikr
''Dhikr'' ( ar, ذِكْر}, , also spelled ''Zikr'', ''Thikr'', ''Zekr'', or ''Zikar'', literally meaning "remembrance, reminder" or "mention") is a form of Islamic meditation in which phrases or prayers are repeatedly chanted in order to reme ...
*Tasbih
''Tasbih'' ( ar, تَسْبِيح, ) is a form of ''dhikr'' that involves the glorification of God in Islam, Allah in Islam by saying: ''"Subhan Allah"'' (; lit. "Glory be to God").
It is often repeated a certain number of times, using either ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Salah
Salah terminology