Isha Prayer Time — Start and End Times Explained

Isha begins when the twilight left after sunset has disappeared, and it remains valid until true dawn, when Fajr begins. In most places that means Isha enters roughly 75 to 100 minutes after Maghrib, though the gap is longer in summer and at higher latitudes.

When does Isha start?

The majority of scholars (Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali) take the start of Isha as the disappearance of the red twilight (al-shafaq al-aḥmar). The Hanafi school waits for the white glow that follows it to fade as well, which gives a slightly later time. Timetables turn this into an angle of the sun below the horizon: 17° (Muslim World League), 17.5° (Egyptian General Authority) and 15° (ISNA), while Umm al-Qura sets Isha a fixed 90 minutes after Maghrib. Follow the method your local mosque uses.

When does Isha end?

Isha stays valid until Fajr begins. Scholars agree, however, that the preferred time ends at the middle of the night, and many advise not delaying it beyond that without a reason. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Were it not that I would make things hard for my ummah, I would have ordered them to delay Isha until a third or half of the night." (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 167)

Praying it in congregation

"Whoever prays Isha in congregation, it is as if he stood half the night in prayer; and whoever prays Fajr in congregation, it is as if he prayed the whole night." (Sahih Muslim 656) An Isha prayed on time also makes waking for Fajr easier.

Witr after Isha

Witr, an odd number of rak'ah, is prayed after Isha and before Fajr. It can be prayed straight after Isha, or later in the night by those who expect to wake for it.

Free, accurate Isha times

Happy Islam works out Isha from your device location using the method you choose, and can remind you before it enters. No subscription, no premium tier, no adverts.

Related: All five prayer times · Fajr time · Asr time · Maghrib time