his mothers, from Umm Farwah, who said: I heard the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, say: The most beloved of deeds to God, the Mighty and Majestic, is the prayer at the beginning of its time (67). And because the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, did not use to delay it, and he only delayed it one night, and he would not do anything but what is best. Our evidence is the saying of Abu Barzah: The Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, used to like to delay the ʿIshaʾ, which they call al-ʿatamah (68). And the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him: Were it not that I would cause hardship for my nation, I would have commanded them to delay the ʿIshaʾ until a third of the night or half of it (69). This is a Hasan Sahih hadith, and their hadiths are weak. As for the report: The first time is the pleasure of God, it is narrated by ʿAbd Allah [ibn ʿUmar] al-ʿUmari, and he is weak (71), and the narrators of the hadith of Umm Farwah are unknown. Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: I do not know (72) anything established (73) regarding the times of prayer: its beginning is such and such, its middle is such and such, and its end is such and such—meaning forgiveness and pleasure—and he said: This is not established. Even if it were established, adopting our specific hadiths is more appropriate than adopting the general ones, along with the authenticity of our reports and the weakness of theirs. Section: It is only recommended (74) to delay it for the individual and for a group (75) that is content with the delay;