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What is the correct time for the beginning and end of night, and does the first third of the night start immediately after Maghrib, and is it better to pray 'Isha after half the night has passed?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The phrase of Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, "until most of the night had passed," is interpreted to mean "a great deal of it" and not "the majority of it." This interpretation is necessary because delaying prayer until after midnight is not preferable. A fasting person breaks their fast at sunset, by the consensus of Muslims. The proof for this is the noble Hadith: "When the night approaches from this side, and the day retreats from that side, and the sun sets, then the fasting person has broken his fast." As for the prayer of David, peace be upon him, he used to sleep half the night, then pray for a third of it, then sleep for a sixth of the night to become active. This method is superior because it rests the soul and prevents boredom. The night begins at sunset and ends at dawn.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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