What is the ruling on congregational prayer for Fajr and 'Isha' for children?

The questioner : Regarding the command for children to pray after the age of seven, specifically Fajr and 'Isha' during school hours...

The Shaykh : We said, use gentleness.

The questioner : We try to wake them up, for example...

The Shaykh : We are currently persuading fathers to command their children to pray Dhuhr, 'Asr, and Maghrib, and then, when they follow this path, the time comes to ask about Fajr.

The questioner : Praying Dhuhr, 'Asr, and Maghrib means there is no problem regarding Fajr and 'Isha'; we wait, for example, until they are nine or ten years old, meaning until we encourage them to pray, or...

The Shaykh : I answered you: if you assume and cross that bridge and say that these children are accustomed to obeying their parents' commands for Dhuhr, 'Asr, Maghrib, and 'Isha', and the only prayer left between the parents and the children is Fajr, then I say: be gentle with them, or with the girls, and do not use harshness with them, because the reality of a child's nature is that he is sleepy, especially the older one. Therefore, one must be wise. But we do not want to reach the point of waking him up against his will from sleep so that he prays the prayer as if he is drunk. Nor do we want him to live forever excused by the parents, because what do they want? They do not want to embarrass him or be harsh with him. Rather, sometimes and sometimes . In any case, the head of the household must be wise, and with the wisdom of the Shari'ah. This is in one hand and the other in the other hand, so that he succeeds in his policy of raising his children.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.

Another questioner : ...your words mean, if he goes to the mosque and takes him with him, and if he prays at home and the child calls out, he gets annoyed...

The Shaykh : Yes, by Allah.

Another questioner : Practically, the child will practice without you telling him to do so, especially those under the age of seven...

The Shaykh : Abu 'Abdullah wants to draw attention to a very important issue from the perspective of upbringing, and I believe that from this aspect, most religious fathers have neglected it. For this reason, you find that most mosques contain only adults. If there are young men, they have passed the age of fifteen by many years. As for these ones we are talking about, those around ten years old, you rarely find them in the five daily prayers in the mosques. This indicates that fathers are falling short with these sons. Otherwise, every time the father goes to pray in the mosque, he says, "Come, my son, pray with me in the mosque." The prayer is twenty-five, twenty-seven [minutes]; after that, it is impossible for him not to be in a race toward good. But do you think fathers do that? Do fathers attend the five daily prayers in the mosque?

Another questioner : What about mothers, my Shaykh, similarly in the home? When the mother calls the adhan with a loud voice, as we know from you according to the Sunnah, she calls the adhan and prays the loud prayer loudly, and calls the girls in the house, or as you said in some of your words, even the small boys who are male and do not know how to read, to pray with their mother in congregation. Then the house will also have this aspect.

The Shaykh : I mean, you want it to be a Muslim home.

Another questioner : If a man's son has reached ten or twelve years of age, is he obligated to pray Fajr in the mosque? Knowing that he is a heavy sleeper.

The Shaykh : The answer has already been given.