The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Were it not that I would impose hardship on the believers, I would have ordered them to delay the night prayer and to use the tooth-stick before every prayer."
قال رسول الله ﷺ: لولا أن أشق على المؤمنين لأمرتهم بتأخير العشاء، وبالسواك عند كل صلاة.
Abu Dawud (46) and Ibn Majah (690) both narrated it from the hadith of Sufyan bin Uyayna, from Abu Zinad, from Aaraj, from Abu Hurairah, who mentioned it. The takhrij of this hadith was already given in the Book of Purification, chapter on the tooth-stick, by way of Malik from Abu Zinad, in the same manner, except that Malik did not mention in his hadith the delaying of the Isha prayer. This is the version that the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) relied upon, just as Muslim narrated it from the hadith of Sufyan without mentioning the delaying of Isha either. A number of narrators reported from Sufyan, among them Qutayba bin Saeed, and from him Abu Dawud narrated it from Sufyan, combining both the delaying of Isha and the tooth-stick at every prayer.Ibn Khuzayma (139), after bringing out the hadith through several routes, including Saeed bin Abdul-Rahman Makhzumi from Sufyan, said, "Makhzumi did not confirm the delaying of Isha." What appears to be the case is that the narrators differed regarding Sufyan bin Uyayna, with most of them not mentioning the delaying of Isha. As for Malik, the narrators from him did not differ, for everyone who narrated from him did not mention the delaying of Isha. Ibn Khuzayma confirmed this after narrating it by way of Rawh bin Ubada, from Malik, saying that Shafii and Bishr bin Umar narrated it just as Rawh did, namely, "Were it not that I would burden my nation, I would have commanded them to use the tooth-stick with every ablution."The hadith of Abu Hurairah has another chain, narrated by Tirmidhi (167) and Ibn Majah (691), both from Ubaydullah bin Umar, from Saeed bin Abu Saeed Maqburi, from Abu Hurairah, who said, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Were it not that I would burden my nation, I would have delayed the Isha prayer until a third of the night, or half the night." It is stated this way, with uncertainty between "a third of the night" and "half of the night."Hakim narrated it in al-Mustadrak (146/1) by way of Abdul-Rahman Sarraj, from Saeed, from Abu Hurairah, where it reads "until half the night," without uncertainty, along with mention of the tooth-stick. Hakim said, "It is sahih according to the standards of both of them (Bukhari and Muslim), and it has no defect." Abdul-Rahman Sarraj is Ibn Abdullah Basri.What appears from this is that the uncertainty stems from one of the narrators from Saeed bin Abu Saeed Maqburi. The hadith has other chains as well, see Musnad Imam Ahmad (258/2–259). Tirmidhi said, "The hadith of Abu Hurairah is a hasan sahih hadith."