the time of the divine descent, because he will catch the first half of the final third, thereby attaining the intended benefit. And it was the Prophet ﷺ who said: “The best prayer is the prayer of David.” (1)

Question: Which night is to be considered when determining its midpoint?

What appears to be correct is that it is from sunset until the break of dawn. Thus, in winter the middle of the night falls six hours after sunset, because the winter night is twelve hours long. At other times, it may fall five hours after sunset, because the night is then approximately ten hours long. So calculate from sunset until the break of dawn; the midpoint between them is the middle of the night.

Night and daytime prayer is performed two by two …

His statement, “Night and daytime prayer is performed two by two,” means: two units at a time. One should not pray four units together; rather, one prays two units at a time. This is based on what is established in Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim, in the hadith of Ibn Umar رضي الله عنه: A man asked the Prophet ﷺ, “What do you say regarding the night prayer?” He replied, “Two by two; then, if one of you fears that dawn is near, let him pray one unit, making what he has already prayed odd.” (2)

As for “daytime,” it was narrated by the compilers of the Sunan collections (3), and the scholars differed regarding its authenticity.