Also, if there is no fear of weakness for a weak person or illness for a sick person in the case of the Imam delaying the Isha prayer, such that their congregational prayer would be missed or delaying the prayer would make it difficult for them to attend the congregation, then it is recommended to delay the Isha prayer.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) delayed the ‘Isha prayer one night, so Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came out and said,“O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), (please lead) the prayer; the women and children have fallen asleep.”So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out while drops of water were falling from his blessed head and he was shaking water off both his sides. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) was saying,“If I did not fear that I would put my Ummah in hardship, I would have commanded them to perform (this prayer) at this time.”(Ibn Jurayj or ‘Umar) — one of the two — narrated these words:“This is the time, if I did not fear that I would put my Ummah in difficulty and hardship.”These are the words of the hadith of ‘Abdul Jabbar when he combined the narration from Ibn Jurayj and ‘Umar ibn Dinar. And when he narrated only from Ibn Jurayj, he said:“This is the time, if I did not fear that I would put my Ummah in hardship.”Ahmad ibn ‘Abdah, in his narration, stated these words:“If I did not fear that I would put the believers in hardship, I would have commanded them to perform this prayer at this time.”