I leave for work early at 4:30 am and this obliges me to sleep early. However, during these days, the time of ‘Ishaa’ is very close to that of Fajr. Therefore, it is difficult for me to wait for the ‘Ishaa’ prayer at 11:00 pm or 11:30 pm and then wake up to pray Fajr at 4:00 am. Is there any excuse for me to delay the ‘Ishaa’ prayer until Fajr or combine it with Maghrib? May Allaah The Almighty Reward you the best.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times}[Quran 4: 103], meaning that it is an obligation that is limited to specified times and that it should not be done at other times except with a legal excuse such as traveling, fear, rain, intense hardship, illness and other similar valid excuses. Performing it early or delaying it from its time because it is difficult for you to wait is impermissible, because it is not a valid excuse. Also, you should know that Allaah The Almighty Gave great importance to the times of prayer as it is indicated in the previous verse. This is proven by the Saying of Allaah The Almighty (what means): {Maintain with care the [obligatory] prayers and [in particular] the middle prayer and stand before Allaah, devoutly obedient.}[Quran 2: 238]

Shaykh Al-Islaam ibn Taymiyyah said in Sharh Al-‘Umdah: “Maintaining it means performing it in its due time because the verse was sent down due to delaying it in the Battle of Al-Khandaq (i.e. The Trench) in spite of not neglecting it and this is according to the interpretation of our Salaf (i.e. righteous predecessors).”

Therefore, one who is unable to perform some of the conditions and obligations of prayer such as purification, facing the Qiblah (i.e. prayer direction), concealing the ‘Awrah (i.e. from the navel to the knees for a man and the entire body for a woman), standing and bowing has to perform it in its time according to his ability, even if he is capable of performing it after its time with its full conditions and obligations. The same ruling applies to the prayer of fear. Rather, in the time of fighting and war, Muslims must pray through gestures even though they can perform it completely after its time is over. All these represent ways of maintaining the time of prayer.

Accordingly, you have to maintain performing the ‘Ishaa’ prayer at its time even if you experience some difficulty for it is well known that an obligation should imply a form of hardship.