Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: One night the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) came to his companions while they were waiting for the ‘Isha prayer. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "People have already performed the prayer, and they have gone to sleep, and you are waiting for it. Since you have been waiting for it, you are counted as being in the state of prayer from that time." Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "If it were not for the weakness of a weak person (the narrator is in doubt, perhaps these are the words) or the old age of an elderly person, I would have delayed this prayer until midnight."