Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: If I did not fear hardship for my ummah, I would have commanded them to use the miswak with every prayer and to delay the ‘Isha prayer until one third or half of the night had passed. In another narration, it is stated: I would have delayed ‘Isha until one third or half of the night.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) once delayed the ‘Isha prayer so much that those who usually prayed had already prayed, those who stayed awake remained awake, those who slept had gone to sleep, and those who performed Tahajjud had performed Tahajjud. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came and said: If I did not fear hardship for my Ummah, I would have commanded them to perform this prayer at this time.

It is also narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) became occupied one night and delayed the ‘Isha prayer so much that we fell asleep in the mosque. Then we woke up, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to us and said:“There is no one on the face of the earth, besides you, who is waiting for this prayer.”

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to lead us in the obligatory prayers, and he would not make them too long nor too short; his prayer was moderate, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) would delay the ‘Atamah, that is, the ‘Isha prayer.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: We waited for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) one night for the 'Isha prayer, until about half the night had passed. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came and led us in prayer and said: Remain seated in your places, for indeed (the people of other mosques) have performed this prayer and gone to sleep, while you, from the time you have been waiting for this prayer, have been in prayer itself. And if it were not for the weakness of the weak, the illness of the sick, and the need of the needy, I would have delayed this prayer until half the night.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) delayed the ‘Isha prayer until one third of the night for eight or nine nights. One day, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah! If you would lead us in this prayer earlier, it would be better for standing in prayer at night. So after that, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would lead this prayer earlier. ‘Abd al-Samad mentioned seven nights and ‘Affan mentioned nine nights.

Asim bin Humaid Shakuni, who was among the companions of Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him), narrates that Sayyiduna Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) said: One day we were waiting for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for the 'Isha prayer, but he delayed, until we began to think that he would not come out at all, and some of us said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) has already performed this prayer and will not come out now. Meanwhile, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived, and we said: O Messenger of Allah! We had begun to think that you would not come out at all, and some among us started saying that you had already performed the prayer and would not come out. Upon hearing this, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Perform this prayer late, for indeed, through it you have been given superiority over all other nations; no nation before you has performed this prayer.

Ibn Jurayj says: I asked Ata, "Which time do you prefer for me to perform the Isha prayer in congregation or individually?" He said: I heard Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrate: One night, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) delayed the performance of the Isha prayer until the people fell asleep and then woke up again. Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and said, "(O Messenger of Allah!) The prayer." So the Prophet of Allah came out. It is as if I can still see him, with drops of water dripping from his head, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) had placed his hand on one side of his head, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If I did not consider it difficult for my Ummah, I would have commanded them to perform this prayer at this time."

(Second chain) There is a similar narration, except that in it: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah! The women and children have fallen asleep, so you (peace and blessings be upon him) came and said: If I did not fear hardship upon my ummah, I would have commanded them to perform this prayer at this time.

It is narrated from Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), she says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) delayed the ‘Isha prayer one night, until Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) called out to him: The women and children have fallen asleep. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came and said: Other than you, there is no one among the people of the earth who is performing this prayer at this time. At that time, only the people of Madinah were performing the prayer. In another narration, it is mentioned: This was before the spread of Islam.