Ordering the Children to Pray Is the Responsibility of Both the Father and the Mother

Q: The questioner, A. S. M. B. from Riyadh, says in his question: I have children whose ages range from nine to twenty-five. They do not always pray with the congregation. I order them, warn them, and wake them up if they are sleeping. They go to the bathroom to perform wudu, and then I ask their mother to complete the task and urge them to hurry out to the mosque for prayer. However, they do not always attend the mosque, especially for the Fajr prayer, if I am with them. But if I am in the other house, because I am married to another woman, they rarely attend the mosque. I have asked their mother to order them to pray with the congregation and to complete what I started, since I wake them up and they are still in the bathroom. I asked her to take charge of them if I am not present, and to use threats and perhaps beating if necessary. But she does not do so. Is there any advice for them and for her? And I know, O Shaykh, that she says: "This matter is your responsibility, not mine." Is her statement correct? Guide us. May Allah reward you with good.

A: It is obligatory for you, for them, and for their mother to cooperate in righteousness and piety, and to exert the possible means to perform the prayer in congregation, even if it involves beating by you and by their mother, for anyone who has reached the age of ten years or more, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): .
And based on the saying of Allah the Exalted: [At-Tawbah: 71]. And based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): , narrated by Muslim in his Sahih.
And based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): . It was said to Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him): "What is the excuse?" He said: "Fear or illness."
The verses and hadiths in this matter are numerous.
I ask Allah to rectify our offspring and your offspring and the offspring of all the Muslims. And to help you and their mother in everything that leads to the well-being of everyone and the purity of the conscience. Indeed, He is Generous and Bountiful.