When is it prescribed for a father to wake his child for the Fajr prayer, given that we see the mosques are full of the elderly and the youth are absent?
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The questioner : When is it prescribed for a father to wake his child, whether male or female, specifically for the Fajr prayer? And what is your advice, may Allah guide you, to fathers in our time, since we see the mosques as if there are no homes in them except for the elderly?
The Shaykh : As for when to wake his child for prayer, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) set a clear limit for us and said: This includes commanding them whether they are sleeping or awake. The boy is to be commanded to pray even if he is sleeping, unless there is harm to him in doing so, in which case he has not yet been held accountable.
As for the questioner’s statement that he sees only the elderly in the mosques, perhaps his mosque is like that. But the mosques of the city, according to our knowledge and what we observe, have more youth in them, praise be to Allah. It is true that twenty years ago or more, the majority in the mosques were the elderly and the sheikhs, but after the awakening occurred, praise be to Allah, the majority in the mosques became the youth. However, this awakening has recently been marred by the division among the youth. That division is contrary to the religion and has no cause. You find some of the youth misleading others, or declaring them innovators, or sometimes declaring them disbelievers, not for guidance but for desire, may Allah protect us from that. People now, some of the youth, are at odds with each other, and praise be to Allah, most are upright. But some of the youth have made their loyalty and disavowal dependent on specific individuals, and this is wrong. Loyalty and disavowal must be attached to those who are worthy of being disavowed or supported. As for making this dependent on individuals, that is desire, not guidance.
Furthermore, it is regrettable that some people now proceed in their loyalty and disavowal based on one of the worst principles, which is: whoever is not with me is against me. Is this correct? No, absolutely not. Whoever is not with you is either against you if he opposes you, or his position is neutral. In any case, I offer advice to the youth: do not spoil your awakening with this division and fragmentation for the sake of so-and-so or so-and-so. There are people in one country who affiliate with specific individuals and mislead everyone else, and people in another country who affiliate with specific individuals and mislead everyone else. This is wrong. It is obligatory for us to remove the disagreement among us and to be one hand, rather than feeding this disagreement with cursing, insults, and publications.
I tell you this because I have personally encountered this matter. Today, a published paper fell into my hands, a full page written in precise letters, labeled "Issue Number One." It contains things where they curse so-and-so and so-and-so. What is the way of doing this? And when did our lands reach this level of defamation and vilification? This leads to a war of tongues in the beginning, and then in the end, a war of swords, with the sword. Therefore, it is obligatory for the youth who possess intellect and understanding to fight this phenomenon completely. It should be said: "Sit down and let us look at what the benefit is of defaming so-and-so and so-and-so? What is the benefit?" It is obligatory to put an end to this bad phenomenon, which we ask Allah the Exalted to save our youth from. Yes.
The Shaykh : As for when to wake his child for prayer, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) set a clear limit for us and said:
Command your children to pray at seven
مروا أبناءكم بالصلاة لسبعAs for the questioner’s statement that he sees only the elderly in the mosques, perhaps his mosque is like that. But the mosques of the city, according to our knowledge and what we observe, have more youth in them, praise be to Allah. It is true that twenty years ago or more, the majority in the mosques were the elderly and the sheikhs, but after the awakening occurred, praise be to Allah, the majority in the mosques became the youth. However, this awakening has recently been marred by the division among the youth. That division is contrary to the religion and has no cause. You find some of the youth misleading others, or declaring them innovators, or sometimes declaring them disbelievers, not for guidance but for desire, may Allah protect us from that. People now, some of the youth, are at odds with each other, and praise be to Allah, most are upright. But some of the youth have made their loyalty and disavowal dependent on specific individuals, and this is wrong. Loyalty and disavowal must be attached to those who are worthy of being disavowed or supported. As for making this dependent on individuals, that is desire, not guidance.
Furthermore, it is regrettable that some people now proceed in their loyalty and disavowal based on one of the worst principles, which is: whoever is not with me is against me. Is this correct? No, absolutely not. Whoever is not with you is either against you if he opposes you, or his position is neutral. In any case, I offer advice to the youth: do not spoil your awakening with this division and fragmentation for the sake of so-and-so or so-and-so. There are people in one country who affiliate with specific individuals and mislead everyone else, and people in another country who affiliate with specific individuals and mislead everyone else. This is wrong. It is obligatory for us to remove the disagreement among us and to be one hand, rather than feeding this disagreement with cursing, insults, and publications.
I tell you this because I have personally encountered this matter. Today, a published paper fell into my hands, a full page written in precise letters, labeled "Issue Number One." It contains things where they curse so-and-so and so-and-so. What is the way of doing this? And when did our lands reach this level of defamation and vilification? This leads to a war of tongues in the beginning, and then in the end, a war of swords, with the sword. Therefore, it is obligatory for the youth who possess intellect and understanding to fight this phenomenon completely. It should be said: "Sit down and let us look at what the benefit is of defaming so-and-so and so-and-so? What is the benefit?" It is obligatory to put an end to this bad phenomenon, which we ask Allah the Exalted to save our youth from. Yes.