Sin: Its Danger is Great

Question :

Allah Almighty has provided me with three daughters; I praised and thanked Him much for that. Then I invoked Him to provide me with a son, and eagerly during the invocation, I said that if Allâh Almighty answered my prayer in this matter, I would observe Fajr daily in the Masjid. At that time, I would pray all of the prayers on time except for Fajr, which I would pray upon waking up, in my home and not in the Masjid.

Allah Almighty answered my prayer, and I praised and thanked Him more than on the previous occasions. Still, I pray the other four compulsory prayers on time, and still, I pray the Fajr prayer when I wake up before going to work, which is at 7:30 am. Am I sinning by not fulfilling my oath? What should I do? And because I have not fulfilled my oath, is it possible that my son will be afflicted with sickness or some other hardship?

Answer:

For a man to pray the obligatory prayer in congregation with the Muslims is one of the most important of the obligatory deeds. Praying in the home is an act of disobedience to Allah Almighty and it resembles the behavior of the hypocrites, about whom Allah Almighty said:
"Verily, the hypocrites seek to deceive Allah, but it is He Who deceives them. And when they stand up for As-Salat (the prayer), they stand with laziness and to be seen of men, and they do not remember Allah but little."

He also said:
"Verily, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths (grade) of the Fire; no helper will you find for them."

The Prophet ﷺ said about them:
"The two most burdensome prayers for the hypocrites are the 'Isha prayer and the Fajr prayer; were they to know what they consist of (in terms of reward), they would have come to them, even if that meant they had to crawl."

Praying Fajr in congregation is perhaps the most stressed of the five prayers; it is forbidden for you to delay it or to perform it in your home. I fear that you may, as a result of not praying on time and in congregation, be subject to Allah's wrath and subject to His punishment and subject to affliction in your self, your family, your children, your wealth.

The dangers and ill results of sinning are great, and not praying in congregation is from the worst of sins, especially considering that this sin involves taking on a characteristic of the hypocrites. In an authentically related Hadith the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"Whoever hears the call to prayer, and then does not come to it, there is no prayer for him, except by excuse."

When Ibn 'Abbas, may Allâh be pleased with them, was asked what the Prophet ﷺ meant by "excuse," he said, "fear or sickness."

In Sahih Muslim, it is recorded that a blind man asked, "O Messenger of Allah, I do not have a guide to accompany me to the Masjid, so do I have leave to pray in my home?" The Messenger of Allâh ﷺ said:
"Do you hear the call to prayer?"

The man answered in the affirmative. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then said:
"Then answer it."

In another narration, he ﷺ said:
"I find no excuse for you."

What is more, you have made an oath to Allah Almighty - if He provides you with a son, you will pray Fajr in the Masjid. Allâh Almighty has fulfilled your wish, so fear Him, fulfill His rights, thank him for His favors, and then you will receive even more blessings; Allâh Almighty says:
"And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed: "If you give thanks (by accepting Faith and worshipping none but Allah), I will give you more (of My Blessings); but if you are thankless (i.e., disbelievers), verily, My punishment is indeed severe."

And:
"Therefore remember Me. I will remember you, and be grateful to Me and never be ungrateful to Me."

And:
"Work you, O family of Dawud, with thanks!" But few of My servants are grateful."

May Allah guide us so that we may be grateful and so that we may fulfill His rights. And Allâh is the Grantor of success.