The short answer
The Isha prayer is four obligatory rak'ahs, two recited aloud and two silently, as al-Shafi'i's Kitab al-Umm reports. Its time begins when the evening twilight has gone. Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, reports two rak'ahs after it from the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him (Sahih al-Bukhari 1180, graded sahih), and Witr follows Isha.
How do you pray Isha, step by step?
These stages follow the report of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, in which the Prophet taught a man how to pray 2. That report gives the stages, not the count, so the four rak'ahs come from the count in al-Umm 10. For the whole prayer, see how to pray Salah, and for preparation see how to perform wudu.
- Check that Isha's time has come. Sahih Muslim 612a (graded sahih) gives Maghrib's time as lasting until the twilight has gone. The report does not give Isha's start; the schools' works take it from that point (see the time table). The times for your place are in the prayer times tool. 1
- Say the opening takbir, Allahu akbar. 2
- Standing: recite Al-Fatihah. The report says there is no prayer for the one who does not recite the Opening of the Book. Then recite what is easy for you of the Quran. 32
- Bow and settle, rise until you stand straight, prostrate and settle, sit calmly, then prostrate again. That is one rak'ah. 2
- Pray the second rak'ah the same way. At the end of the two, sit and recite the tashahhud (the testimony said while seated). See the tashahhud lesson. 4
- Stand for the third and fourth rak'ahs with the same stages. Al-Umm gives Isha two rak'ahs recited aloud and two recited silently. 10
- Sit for the final tashahhud, then finish with the salam to the right and to the left. Sa'd, may Allah be pleased with him, saw the Prophet give the salam to his right and to his left, until the whiteness of his cheek could be seen. 45
Witr is a separate prayer that comes after Isha, covered below and in how to pray Witr.
2AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 793
How many rakats are in Isha?
The count of Isha is four rak'ahs (cycles of standing, bowing and prostrating). Al-Shafi'i reports in Kitab al-Umm that the whole community handed down Isha as four, with the recitation aloud in two and quiet in two 10. That count comes from a Shafi'i work; the other three schools' works are not cited for it here. The chart of all five prayers is on how many rakats are in each prayer.
For the rak'ahs around Isha, Ibn 'Umar says he memorised ten rak'ahs from the Prophet, among them two after Isha in his house (Sahih al-Bukhari 1180, graded sahih) 6. The report names no rak'ahs before Isha. How each school classes the extra rak'ahs differs, so the table gives one named work per school.
| HanafiMaraqi al-Falah | Malikial-Sharh al-Kabir, al-Kafi | Shafi'iMinhaj al-Talibin | Hanbalial-Mughni | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before Isha | Four rak'ahs, listed as recommended (mandub), not among the emphasised sunnahs. 13 | Voluntary prayer is recommended at any time it is allowed. Isha is not named among the times where it is emphasised. 14 | The list of regular sunnahs names none before Isha. 15 | The ten regular sunnahs name none before Isha. 16 |
| After Isha | Two, an emphasised sunnah (sunnah mu'akkadah). Four after Isha are also listed as recommended. 1213 | Not named among the times where voluntary prayer is emphasised. 14 | Two, a regular sunnah. One view in the school says Isha has no regular sunnah. 15 | Two, one of the ten regular sunnahs. 16 |
| Witr | Wajib in the more correct view; three rak'ahs with one salam. It is not prayed before Isha. 1721 | Among the most emphasised sunnahs, with a prayer of at least two rak'ahs before it. Its time is from after Isha. 18 | A voluntary prayer, at least one rak'ah and at most eleven, between Isha and dawn. 19 | Not wajib; Ahmad calls it sunnah mu'akkadah. Its time is between Isha and the second dawn (true dawn). 20 |
Ilmwell does not decide between these lists. The definitions of sunnah and nafl are in Sunnah and Nafl prayers.
6AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 1180
Which parts of Isha are recited aloud?
Al-Umm gives Isha two rak'ahs with the recitation aloud and two with it quiet 10. The passage does not say here what a person praying alone or a follower does, so ask a teacher you trust about your own case.
Al-Bara' ibn 'Azib, may Allah be pleased with him, says he heard the Prophet recite Surah At-Tin in Isha, and that he never heard anyone with a better voice or recitation (Sahih al-Bukhari 769, graded sahih) 7. The report shows the recitation could be heard. It does not say which rak'ah, and it does not make At-Tin a set surah for Isha.
7AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 769
Al-Nawawi's Minhaj al-Talibin (Shafi'i) says a surah after Al-Fatihah is sunnah except in the third and fourth rak'ahs. A follower listens rather than adding a surah, unless he is far away or the prayer is a silent one. For 'Asr and Isha, the Minhaj recommends the middle-length surahs of the part of the Quran called the Mufassal 11. That is one school's work. Learn Al-Fatihah with its meaning in the Al-Fatihah lesson.
When does Isha start and end?
In the report of 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr, may Allah be pleased with him, the Prophet gave Maghrib's time as lasting until the twilight has gone. He gave the time of Isha as up to the middle of the night (Sahih Muslim 612a, graded sahih) 1. The report gives no clock time: it speaks of the middle of the night, not of a time on the clock. For today's times, use the prayer times tool.
1AuthenticSahih Muslim 612a
The four schools' works agree that Isha begins when the twilight has gone, and they read the end of its time in layers: a preferred time, then a later time that still reaches dawn. Each row below follows one named work.
| HanafiMaraqi al-Falah | Malikial-Kafi | Shafi'ial-Majmu' | Hanbalial-Mughni | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isha begins | When the red twilight has gone, the position given for fatwa (the commentary notes a difference on the twilight). 21 | When the twilight, the redness in the west after sunset, has gone. 22 | When the red twilight has gone, not the white. 23 | When the red twilight has gone. Where the horizon is hidden, wait for the white to go as a sign of it. 24 |
| Preferred time | Delaying to the first third of the night is recommended. Delaying to half is permitted in winter, citing Majma' al-Riwayat. 21 | The chosen time lasts to a third of the night, Malik's view. Another view says half. 22 | The chosen time ends at a third of the night on al-Nawawi's chosen view. The other well-known view says half. 23 | Reports from Ahmad give a third or half. Ibn Qudamah: better not past a third; to half is permitted. 24 |
| After that, until dawn | Delaying beyond half the night is disliked (makruh tahriman). The time of Isha itself runs until just before true dawn. 21 | Prayed before dawn, it is prayed in its time according to Malik, though that is disliked. 22 | A permissible time (waqt al-jawaz) remains until true dawn: the school's position. Al-Istakhri held that it becomes a make-up (qada'). 23 | A time of necessity until true dawn. Ibn Qudamah applies to Isha the 'Asr rule: whoever catches one rak'ah within it has prayed in its time, but delaying into it is only for an excuse. 24 |
Can you pray Isha after midnight?
In each of the four works, an Isha prayed after the middle of the night and before true dawn still falls within a time the work recognises, with different labels: disliked, permissible or a time of necessity. Al-Nawawi reports in al-Majmu' that al-Istakhri held it becomes a make-up (qada') once the chosen time has passed, and that the school's majority kept a permissible time until dawn 23. Whether your own prayer was on time is a question for a scholar you trust.
Where do Witr and Taraweeh fit?
Witr comes after Isha. Ibn 'Umar reports the Prophet's instruction to make Witr the last of your prayer at night (Sahih al-Bukhari 998, graded sahih) 8. The schools differ on its status and its rak'ahs, as the table above shows; the steps for each school are in how to pray Witr.
8AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 998
'Uthman ibn 'Affan, may Allah be pleased with him, heard the Prophet say that whoever prays Isha in congregation is as if he stood half the night (Sahih Muslim 656a, graded sahih) 9. The report speaks of Isha in congregation and says nothing about praying alone or about Taraweeh.
9AuthenticSahih Muslim 656a
Ibn Qudamah's al-Mughni lists Taraweeh, with the eclipse and rain prayers, among the voluntary prayers prayed in congregation 16. Taraweeh has its own guide, coming soon.
If you are unsure
The named works differ on the rak'ahs around Isha and on what a late Isha counts as. Not covered here: combining Maghrib and Isha when travelling (see combining prayers while travelling), praying behind an imam, and making up several prayers, which has its own guide on missed prayers. For your own situation, ask a teacher you trust.
In June, Isha came so late that I used to sit on the sofa trying not to fall asleep. Some nights I lost that battle and woke up at two in the morning to pray. Now I set an alarm and treat it like an appointment.
Try it: the reports and the works
Four checks, each with its source.
1How many rakats does al-Shafi'i's Kitab al-Umm give for Isha?
Answer: Four, two aloud and two quiet. Al-Umm reports four for Isha, with the recitation aloud in two and quiet in two. Source 10
2Which surah did al-Bara' ibn 'Azib hear in Isha, in Sahih al-Bukhari 769?
Answer: At-Tin. He heard At-Tin in Isha. The report does not make it a set surah for Isha. Source 7
3Does al-Majmu' make every Isha prayed after the chosen time a make-up (qada')?
Answer: No. A permissible time remains until true dawn, as the school's position. Al-Nawawi gives the permissible time until true dawn as the school's position. Making it qada' was al-Istakhri's view. Source 23
4Is Witr one of the four rak'ahs of Isha?
Answer: No. It is a separate prayer after Isha. Sahih al-Bukhari 998 says to make Witr the last prayer of the night, and each school's work puts its time after Isha. Source 8
Questions people ask
Is there a fixed total of rak'ahs for Isha?
The obligatory part is four rak'ahs, as al-Shafi'i's Kitab al-Umm reports. Each school's work counts the rak'ahs around it differently. The Hanafi Maraqi al-Falah gives two emphasised after Isha and recommends four before and four after. The Shafi'i and Hanbali lists give two after, and the Maliki al-Sharh al-Kabir does not name Isha among the times where voluntary prayer is emphasised. Witr is a separate prayer after Isha. Ask a teacher you trust which count your mosque follows.
Can I pray Witr before Isha?
Witr's time comes after Isha in the works read for each school. Maraqi al-Falah (Hanafi) says Witr is not prayed before Isha; al-Kafi (Maliki) gives its time from after Isha; the Minhaj (Shafi'i) and al-Mughni (Hanbali) give it between Isha and dawn. For combining or a missed prayer, ask a scholar you trust.
What time is Isha today?
The schools' works describe Isha's time in words, starting when the twilight has gone, with no clock times. For today's Isha time where you are, use the Ilmwell prayer times tool, which lets you choose the calculation method.
Sources
Every claim on this page comes from one of these. Gradings are reported with the scholar's name; we do not grade hadith ourselves.
- 1
The Prophet said the time of Maghrib lasts until the twilight has gone, and the time of Isha until the middle of the night.
Sahih Muslim 612a Book 5, Hadith 219
Authentic: in Sahih Muslim
- 2
The Prophet taught a man the stages of prayer: takbir, recitation, bowing, rising, prostration, sitting, prostration, and calm in each.
Sahih al-Bukhari 793 Book 10, Hadith 188
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 3
The Prophet said there is no prayer for the one who does not recite the Opening of the Book (Fatihat al-Kitab).
Sahih al-Bukhari 756 Book 10, Hadith 150
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 4
Aishah describes the Prophet reciting the tahiyyah at the end of every two rak'ahs and ending the prayer with the salam.
Sahih Muslim 498 Book 4, Hadith 272
Authentic: in Sahih Muslim
- 5
'Amir ibn Sa'd reported from his father, Sa'd, may Allah be pleased with him, that he used to see the Prophet give the salam to his right and to his left.
Sahih Muslim 582 Book 5, Hadith 153
Authentic: in Sahih Muslim
- 6
Ibn 'Umar memorised ten rak'ahs from the Prophet: two before and two after Zuhr, two after Maghrib in his house, two after Isha in his house, and two before Fajr.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1180 Book 19, Hadith 58
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 7
Al-Bara' ibn 'Azib heard the Prophet recite Surah At-Tin (wat-tini waz-zaytun) in the Isha prayer, and never heard anyone with a better voice or recitation.
Sahih al-Bukhari 769 Book 10, Hadith 163
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 8
Ibn 'Umar reported that the Prophet said: make the last of your prayer at night witr.
Sahih al-Bukhari 998 Book 14, Hadith 9
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 9
'Uthman ibn 'Affan heard the Prophet say that whoever prays Isha in congregation is as if he stood half the night, and whoever prays Subh in congregation is as if he prayed the whole night.
Sahih Muslim 656a Book 5, Hadith 324
Authentic: in Sahih Muslim
- 10
Al-Shafi'i's Kitab al-Umm, Kitab al-Salah, 'Adad al-salawat al-khams: the general body of Muslims handed down the count of each prayer: Zuhr four rak'ahs with no aloud recitation, Asr four with no aloud recitation, Maghrib three (aloud in two, quiet in the third), Isha four (aloud in two, quiet in two) and Subh (Fajr) two, aloud in both.
al-Shafi'i, Kitab al-Umm, chapter 'Adad al-salawat al-khams Read on ar.wikisource.org.
- 11
Al-Nawawi (Shafi'i), in Minhaj al-Talibin: a surah after Al-Fatihah is sunnah except in the third and fourth rak'ahs (on the more apparent view); a follower recites no surah but listens, unless far away or in a quiet prayer; for 'Asr and Isha the recommended surahs are from the middle-length part of the Mufassal.
al-Nawawi, Minhaj al-Talibin, p. 26 Read on shamela.ws.
- 12
Al-Shurunbulali (Hanafi), in Maraqi al-Falah, lists the emphasised sunnah prayers (sunnah mu'akkadah) around the daily prayers as: two before Fajr; two after Dhuhr; two after Maghrib; two after Isha; and four before Dhuhr. The commentary on the same page records that al-Marghinani narrated from Abu Hanifa that the two before Fajr are wajib.
al-Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah, p. 145 Read on shamela.ws.
- 13
Al-Shurunbulali (Hanafi), in Maraqi al-Falah: four rak'ahs before Isha and four after it are among the recommended (mandub) prayers, alongside the emphasised two after Isha in the list on the previous page.
al-Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah, p. 146 Read on shamela.ws.
- 14
Al-Dardir (Maliki), in al-Sharh al-Kabir: voluntary prayer is recommended at any time it is allowed, and the recommendation is emphasised after Maghrib, before and after Zuhr and before 'Asr, with no fixed number on which the recommendation depends; Isha is not named in that list.
al-Dardir, al-Sharh al-Kabir 1/312 to 1/313 Read on shamela.ws.
- 15
Al-Nawawi (Shafi'i), in Minhaj al-Talibin: the regular sunnah prayers with the obligatory ones include two rak'ahs after Isha, with one view that Isha has no regular sunnah; all of them are sunnah, and the difference is only over which are emphasised.
al-Nawawi, Minhaj al-Talibin, p. 36 Read on shamela.ws.
- 16
Ibn Qudamah (Hanbali), in al-Mughni: the regular sunnah prayers with the obligatory ones are ten rak'ahs, including two after Isha.
Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni 2/92 to 2/93 Read on shamela.ws.
- 17
Al-Shurunbulali (Hanafi), in Maraqi al-Falah: witr is wajib (in the more correct view, the last of Abu Hanifa's views), three rak'ahs with one salam, al-Fatihah and a surah in each, a sitting with the tashahhud only after two; in the third, after the surah, the hands are raised to the ears, a takbir is said and qunoot is made standing before ruku', all year.
al-Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah, pp. 139 to 143 Read on shamela.ws.
- 18
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr (Maliki), in al-Kafi: witr is among the most emphasised sunnahs; its time is from after 'Isha until the Subh prayer; there should be a prayer before witr, at least two rak'ahs; a group of scholars disliked a single rak'ah with nothing before it and others allowed it, and Ibn 'Abd al-Barr prefers what Malik chose, since no one preserved from the Prophet a witr of one rak'ah; behind an imam who prays three without a salam between them, do not go against him.
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Kafi 1/255 to 1/259 Read on shamela.ws.
- 19
Al-Nawawi's Minhaj al-Talibin (Shafi'i): witr is among the voluntary (nafl) prayers, at least one rak'ah and at most eleven; its time is between 'Isha and dawn; it is sunnah to make it the last prayer of the night, and one who prayed witr and then prayed Tahajjud does not repeat it; night voluntary prayer is better than day, with a salam after every two; Tahajjud is sunnah; unrestricted voluntary prayer has no limit.
al-Nawawi, Minhaj al-Talibin, pp. 36 and 37 Read on shamela.ws.
- 20
Ibn Qudamah's al-Mughni (Hanbali): night voluntary prayer is only two by two (Abu Hanifa allowed up to eight; he reports Malik and al-Shafi'i as holding two by two); unrestricted voluntary prayer is prescribed through the whole night; Ahmad said nothing after the obligatory prayers is better than standing at night; witr is not wajib, a sunnah mu'akkadah in Ahmad's words; its time is between 'Isha and dawn and it is best at the end of the night; one who prayed witr and then wakes for Tahajjud prays two by two and does not undo his witr; one who missed his Tahajjud may make it up between Fajr and Zuhr.
Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni 2/117 to 2/120 Read on shamela.ws.
- 21
Al-Shurunbulali (Hanafi), in Maraqi al-Falah: Maghrib lasts until the red twilight goes on the position used for fatwa, and Isha and witr run from then until just before true dawn; delaying Isha to the first third of the night is recommended, to half is permitted (in winter, citing Majma' al-Riwayat), and beyond half is disliked (makruh tahriman).
al-Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah, pp. 72, 73 and 75 Read on shamela.ws.
- 22
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr (Maliki), in al-Kafi: Isha begins when the red twilight has gone; its chosen time lasts to a third of the night (Malik's view; another view: half); whoever prays it before dawn has prayed it in its time according to Malik, though that is disliked for him.
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Kafi 1/190 to 1/191 Read on shamela.ws.
- 23
Al-Nawawi (Shafi'i), in al-Majmu': Isha begins when the red twilight has gone; its chosen time (waqt al-ikhtiyar) ends at a third of the night on the view he calls chosen (the other well-known view: half); after that the permissible time (waqt al-jawaz) remains until true dawn, which is the school's position; al-Istakhri held that it then becomes a make-up (qada').
al-Nawawi, al-Majmu' 3/38 to 3/40 Read on shamela.ws.
- 24
Ibn Qudamah (Hanbali), in al-Mughni: Isha begins when the red twilight has gone (where the horizon is hidden, one waits for the white to go as a sign of the red); reports from Ahmad differ on the end of the chosen time (a third of the night, or half); Ibn Qudamah: better not to delay beyond a third, delaying to half is permitted, and after half is a time of necessity until true dawn.
Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni 1/273 and 1/277 to 1/279 Read on shamela.ws.
Next
- How to pray Salah: the whole prayerGuide
- How to pray WitrGuide
- How to perform wuduGuide
- Prayer times for where you areTool
- How many rak'ahs in each prayerGuide
- Sunnah and nafl prayers: how they fit togetherGuide
- How to pray Fajr: steps and recitationsGuide
- How to pray TahajjudGuide
- The five daily prayersGuide
- Combining prayers while travellingGuide
- Prayer and PurificationThe hub
- How to pray MaghribGuide
For your own situation, ask a scholar you trust.
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