F43Chapter of the Conditions of Prayer
The time of the night prayer, from its beginning to its end
When does the time of the night prayer begin and when does it end according to the four imams?
Hanafi
It begins when the red twilight is gone and lasts until true dawn; delaying it to the first third of the night is recommended.
Reference: Al-Hidāyah — Radd al-Muḥtār — Marāqī al-Falāḥ
Maliki
It begins when the red twilight disappears; its preferred time runs to the first third of the night, and its time of necessity to true dawn.
Reference: Al-Sharḥ al-Kabīr — Ḥāshiyat al-Dasūqī — Minaḥ al-Jalīl
Shāfiʿī
It begins when the red twilight disappears and lasts until true dawn, the preferred time ending at the first third of the night.
Reference: Minhāj al-Ṭālibīn — Al-Majmūʿ — Mughnī al-Muḥtāj
Hanbali
It begins when the red twilight disappears; its preferred time runs to the first third of the night, and its time of necessity to true dawn.
Reference: Zād al-Mustaqniʿ — Kashshāf al-Qināʿ — Al-Inṣāf