If one prays Fajr in congregation after the time has passed, do they obtain the virtue of (whoever prays the morning prayer in congregation is in the protection of Allah)?

The questioner : A group missed the Fajr prayer. If they stand up and pray it after the time has passed, do they fall under the hadith ?

The Shaykh : The reality is that the reward and the consequences resulting from congregational prayer are, in my view, a point of difficulty: Do they apply to the first congregation, or to any congregation that forms, even if it is after the first? For example, congregational prayer is twenty-seven times better than the prayer of an individual. We enter the mosque and find that the people have already prayed, so we pray in congregation. Do we attain the twenty-seven degrees? This is a point of difficulty for me, because if we said this, it would necessitate that people delay what? The first congregation, and they would say: Since we want the reward, whenever we are free we will go to the mosque to pray. I have a difficulty with this. However, if we enter the mosque and they have already prayed, then we pray in congregation, which is better than each of us praying alone. The evidence for this is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): A man entered while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was sitting with his Companions, and he had missed the congregational prayer, so he said: The reward for the dhikr after the Fajr prayer for those who missed the prayer is, in my view, subject to consideration, because all the reward attached to congregational prayer is only in the first congregation. Yes.