Ready to practice Isha?
Sofia will recite while you follow along with Layth. Just listen, watch, and try the movements with us. Takes about 8 minutes.
Practice IshaWhat is Isha?
Isha is the night prayer. It is the fifth and last prayer of the day. We pray it after the sky has turned dark and the red light at the edge of the sky from sunset has gone away.
Isha has 4 rakat, the same structure as Dhuhr and Asr. But Isha is different in one important way: the first two rakat are recited aloud, and the last two are silent. This is the same pattern as Maghrib and Fajr (which are loud prayers), mixed with the silent pattern of Dhuhr and Asr.
Isha is a lovely prayer to end the day with. Many families pray Isha together right before bedtime, then read a short dua and go to sleep. When you pray Isha, you are closing the day by talking to Allah, just like you started the day with Fajr.
What you'll recite
Every rakat begins with Al-Fatiha (the opening of the Quran). In Isha, you only add a short surah after Al-Fatiha in the first two rakat. In rakats three and four, you say Al-Fatiha by itself. The first two rakat are said aloud; the last two are said quietly to yourself.
You get to choose which surah comes after Al-Fatiha in the first two rakat. When you tap practice, you'll pick from the surahs you have learned. Here's what each rakat looks like:
- Al-Fatiha
- Your chosen surah
- Al-Fatiha
- Your chosen surah
- Al-Fatiha (just by itself)
- Al-Fatiha (just by itself)
Short surahs like Al-Ikhlas, An-Nas, and Al-Falaq are great choices, and it's nice to pick a different one for the second rakat.
After the second rakat, you sit for a short moment to say the tashahhud, then stand back up for the third rakat. The full sitting with tashahhud, durood, and salaam happens at the very end, after the fourth rakat.
Haven't learned the basics yet?
If you don't know how to pray one rakat yet, that's okay! Start with the Start Here lesson first. Layth and Sofia will teach you each posture and recitation, one step at a time.
Once you've learned one rakat, you'll be ready to practice any of the five daily prayers.
Ready to give it a try?
Practice IshaQuestions parents ask
How many rakat is Isha?
Isha is 4 rakat. The first two rakat each include Al-Fatiha followed by a short surah of your choice, both recited aloud. After the second rakat the worshipper sits for the first tashahhud, then stands again. The third and fourth rakat contain Al-Fatiha only, recited silently, with no surah added after it. The prayer ends with a final sitting that includes the tashahhud, the durood, and salaam to the right and then to the left.
When do Muslims pray Isha?
Isha is prayed at night, after the red twilight has disappeared from the sky and full darkness has set in. The window opens when twilight ends (roughly an hour and a half after sunset, depending on the location and season) and closes at the start of true dawn (when Fajr begins). Most Muslim families use a prayer time app or website to know the precise minute Isha begins each night, since the time shifts with the seasons. Isha is the last of the five daily prayers.
Is it OK to pray Isha right before bed?
Yes, praying Isha right before bed is a very common practice and is encouraged. Many Muslim families establish Isha as the last activity of the night, often combined with a short bedtime dua. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) preferred that Isha be prayed earlier in the night rather than delayed close to midnight, but for kids and busy families, praying Isha shortly before bedtime is completely acceptable. What matters most is that it gets prayed within its window, which lasts until the start of Fajr.
What surahs do you recite in Isha?
In Isha, only the first two rakat add a short surah after Al-Fatiha. The choice of short surah is up to the worshipper. Common choices for children include Surah Al-Ikhlas, Surah An-Nas, and Surah Al-Falaq because they are short, easy to memorize, and frequently taught early. The third and fourth rakat of Isha contain Al-Fatiha only, with no surah added. This pattern is the same as Dhuhr and Asr.
Is Isha prayed silently or aloud?
Isha is a mixed prayer. The first two rakat are recited aloud: Al-Fatiha and the short surah are said audibly. The last two rakat are silent: Al-Fatiha is said quietly to yourself, with no surah added. When an imam leads a congregation in Isha, the imam recites the first two rakat aloud so the worshippers can hear and follow along. Fajr and Maghrib are also loud prayers (in their full or first portion); Dhuhr and Asr are fully silent. In the Layth and Layan practice mode, Sofia recites all rakats aloud so children can hear and learn the words.
Why are rakats 3 and 4 of Isha different from rakats 1 and 2?
In Isha, the first two rakat each include Al-Fatiha followed by a short surah of the worshipper's choice, while the third and fourth rakat contain Al-Fatiha alone with no additional surah. This is the standard structure of the four-rakat obligatory prayers (Dhuhr, Asr, Isha): a short surah is recited in the first two rakat only. The movements (ruku and sujud) remain the same in every rakat.
Why is there a sitting in the middle of Isha?
After the second rakat of any four-rakat prayer, the worshipper sits briefly to recite the first tashahhud. This first sitting includes only the tashahhud (the testimony of faith), not the durood (the blessings on the Prophet) and not the salaam. After the first tashahhud, the worshipper stands back up and continues with the third rakat. The full sitting with tashahhud, durood, and salaam comes at the very end of the prayer, after the fourth rakat.
How long does Isha take?
Isha typically takes about 8 to 10 minutes when prayed alone at a calm, learning pace. A child praying along with the Layth and Layan guided practice can expect about 8 minutes. When prayed quickly, it can be as short as 5 minutes; when prayed slowly with longer surahs, it can take 15 minutes or more. The length depends on which short surahs are chosen and how unhurried the recitation is.