Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace be upon him) used to say: "The duration of your existence, in comparison to the nations that passed before you, is like the time between the Asr prayer and sunset. The people of the Torah were given the Torah and they worked until half the day had passed; they became tired and were each given one qirat. Then the people of the Gospel were given the Gospel and they worked until the Asr prayer; then they became tired and were each given one qirat. After that, we were given the Qur'an and we worked until sunset, so we were given two qirats each. Both the people of the Book said, 'O our Lord! You gave these people two qirats and gave us only one qirat, even though we did more work.' Allah the Exalted said, 'Did I withhold anything from your wages?' They replied, 'No.' So Allah the Almighty said, 'This is My mercy; I give it to whom I will (what objection do you have?).'"

Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him) says that we used to offer the Maghrib prayer with the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), then each of us would return (after the prayer) at such a time that he could see the places where his arrows had fallen.

Narrated Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to offer the Zuhr prayer exactly at midday, and the Asr prayer at a time when the sun was still bright and shining, and the Maghrib prayer when the sun had set, and the Isha prayer sometimes at one time, sometimes at another. When he (peace be upon him) saw that the people had gathered, he would offer it early, and when he saw that the people were late, he would delay it. And the Fajr prayer, those people—or he said: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)—used to offer in darkness.

‘Sayyiduna Abdullah Muzani (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that’ the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Let not the Bedouins overpower you regarding the name of your Maghrib prayer (i.e., let them not give it another name).”And he said:“The Bedouins say that it (i.e., Maghrib) is ‘Isha.”

Umm al-Mu'mineen Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) says that one night the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) delayed the 'Isha prayer, and this incident was before the spread of Islam. So, he (peace be upon him) did not come out until Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came to him and said, "The women and children have fallen asleep." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came out and said, "Among the people of the earth, none are waiting for this prayer except you."

Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I and my companions who had come with me by boat were staying at Baqi’ Bathan, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was in Madinah. So, one group after another from among us would go to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in turns. Then (one day) all of us, that is, I and my companions, went to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and he was busy with his work, so he delayed the (‘Isha) prayer until half the night had passed. After that, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came out and led the people in prayer. Then, when he had finished his prayer, he said to those who were present:“At this time, no one is praying except you,”or he said something like:“No one has prayed.”I do not know which of these two sentences he said. Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) says: We returned, happy with what we had heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

The hadith of Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) delayed the ‘Isha prayer, so Amir al-Mu’minin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) called out to him. This has been mentioned earlier (see the Book: Statement of the Times of Prayer... Chapter: The Virtue of the ‘Isha Prayer...). In this narration, she adds that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to offer the (‘Isha) prayer after the disappearance of the twilight until the first third of the night. And in the narration of Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both):“The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came out, as if I am looking at him at that moment, water was dripping from his blessed head and he had his hand placed on his blessed head, so he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘If I did not consider it hard upon my Ummah, I would have certainly commanded them to offer the ‘Isha prayer in this manner (at this time).’”

`Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that when the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) placed his hand on his head, he separated his fingers a little and placed the tips of his fingers on one side of his head. Then, joining them together, he drew them across his head in such a way that his thumb reached his earlobe, near the edge of his beard by his face. He neither delayed nor hurried; he did exactly as I have described to you.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) (regarding the ‘Isha prayer) narrates that it is as if I am seeing the shine of the ring of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) on that night.

Narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever performs the two cool prayers will enter Paradise."