Do I Need to Repeat Isha Prayers If Prayed Early?

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question

For years, my mosque held Isha prayers at a set time after Maghrib, before the twilight had fully disappeared.

Now, a trusted scholar has said this method was incorrect. Do I need to repeat my Isha and Witr prayers?

Answer

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

The prayer time must be entered for the prayer to be valid. If Isha was prayed before the red twilight (al-shafaq al-ahmar) disappeared, it was not valid for that night. All schools agree on this, as even the earliest time for Isha begins only after twilight has passed. [Nawawi, al-Majmu’; Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

You do not need to make up years of missed prayers. If a required prayer was done before its time, it does not count for that night’s Isha. However, since you already owed the previous night’s Isha, the prayer you performed was counted for that missed one.

The mistake in your intention is forgiven, provided you specified the required prayer. [Shirbini, Mughni al-Muhtaj] Each night’s prayer covered the one before it, so only the last Isha remains to be made up. Witr, which is a confirmed sunna, follows the same rule.

It is recommended, but not required, to make up one Witr as well.

Make up that one Isha prayer, and one Witr (to follow the recommended practice). After this, you do not need to worry about the past. Going forward, use a reliable timetable for Isha.

And Allah (Most High) knows best.

[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.