The Islamic Midnight

The Islamic Midnight

The Islamic midnight is a special time connected to the prayer times. It marks the end of the Isha prayer. Therefore, the Isha prayer should only be performed later in an emergency or if one has overslept.

The evidence in Sahih Muslim in the hadith of 'Abdullah bin 'Amr:

"We were informed by Abu Ghassan al-Misma'iy and Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna, who said: Mu'adh informed us - and he was the son of Hisham -, my father told me, from Qatada, from Abu Ayyub, from Abdullah ibn Amr, that the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'When you perform the Fajr prayer, its time is until the first ray of the sun rises. Then, when you perform the Dhuhr prayer, its time is until the afternoon comes. When you perform the Asr prayer, its time is until the sun turns yellow. When you perform the Maghrib prayer, its time is until the twilight disappears. When you perform the Isha prayer, its time is until the middle of the night.'"

(Sahih Muslim, Chapter: The Times of the Five Prayers)

There are also less common opinions that the Isha prayer ends either with a third of the night or with Fajr. However, to ensure the time is valid for everyone, regardless of which opinion one follows, this page specifies the Islamic midnight as the end. It is the earliest time and therefore falls within the valid prayer time according to all three opinions.