They said:

The only reason the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not gather people for the night prayer (1) in Ramadan was his fear that it might become obligatory. With his death, that possibility ceased to exist, so this became comparable to compiling the Quran and similar matters. Since praying in congregation is prescribed for this prayer, performing it in congregation is better.

As for the statement of ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him:

“The prayer you sleep through is better.”

He meant the latter part of the night, whereas people were praying in its earlier part. This statement is correct: the latter part of the night is better, just as offering the ‘Ishā’ prayer in its earlier part is better. Yet an act performed at a less preferable time may have a particular advantage that makes performing it then better than at another time. Thus, combining the two prayers at ‘Arafah and Muzdalifah is better than offering them separately, because of a reason that calls for this, even though the general rule is that offering a prayer when its time arrives (2) is better. Likewise, in intense heat, it is better to delay the prayer until it becomes cooler.

On Friday, however, offering the prayer immediately after the sun passes its zenith is better. Delaying the Friday prayer until it becomes cooler is not recommended, because of the hardship this causes people. Delaying the ‘Ishā’ prayer until a third of the night has passed is better, unless people have already gathered and waiting would cause them hardship; in that case, offering it earlier is better. The same applies to gathering for prayer during Ramadan in the second half of the night, if doing so causes people hardship.

In the Sunan collections, Ubayy ibn Ka‘b reports that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: