Sleeping and missing salaat al-fajr

A brother complained: “I miss salaat al-Ffjr on most days, and I hardly ever pray it at the right time. Usually I do not wake up until after the sun has risen, or at best I wake up after the time for praying fajr in jamaa’ah. I have tried to wake up at the right time, with no success. What is the solution to this problem?”
All praise be to Allaah. The solution to this problem, like others, has two aspects: theoretical and practical.
The theoretical aspect may be further broken down into two points:
(1) The Muslim should know the great status of salaat al-fajr in the sight of Allaah, may He be glorified. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever prays the dawn prayer in congregation, it is as if he had prayed the whole night long.” (Muslim, p. 454, no. 656; al-Tirmidhi, 221). 
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also said:
“The most burdensome prayers for the hypocrites are salaat al-‘isha’ and salaat al-fajr, but if they only knew what they contain, they would come even if they had to crawl.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, al-Musnad, 2/424; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 133).
“Whoever prays fajr is under the protection of Allaah. Do not put yourselves in a situation where Allaah has to call you to account for your negligence.” (Reported by al-Tabaraani, 7/267; Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 6344).
“Angels come to you in shifts by night and by day. They meet at salaat al-fajr and salaat al-‘asr, then those who had stayed with you at night ascend, and are asked by the One Who knows better than they: ‘How did you find My servants?’ They say, ‘We left them when they were praying, and we came to them when they were praying.’ ” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, 2/33).
“The best of prayers in the sight of Allaah is the dawn prayer on Friday, in congregation.” (Reported by Abu Na’eem in al-Hilyah , 7/207, and in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1566).
According to a saheeh hadeeth: “Whoever prays al-Bardayn will enter Paradise .” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, 2/52). Al-Bardayn are fajr and ‘asr.
(2) The Muslim should understand the seriousness of missing salaat al-fajr. This is explained by the hadeeth already quoted:
“The most burdensome prayers for the hypocrites are salaat al-‘isha’ and salaat al-Fajr…”
In al-Saheeh, it is reported that Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both) said: “If we did not see a person at fajr and ‘isha’ prayers, we would think badly of him.” (Reported by al-Tabaraani in al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer, 12/271. Al-Haythami said, the men of al-Tabaraani are muwaththaqoon (trustworthy). al-Majma’, 2/40). They thought badly of a person who was absent from these two prayers because regular performance of them is an indication of a person’s faith and a measure of his sincerity. Other prayers may be easier to do because they are more convenient to a person’s circumstances and fit in with his work and his sleep, but only those who are determined and sincere, people whom one hopes are good people, will be able to pray fajr and ‘isha’ regularly in congregation.
Another hadeeth which indicates the seriousness of missing salaat al-fajr is: “Whoever prays fajr is under the protection of Allaah. Do not put yourselves in a situation where Allaah has to call you to account for your negligence, because whoever finds himself in this situation will be sorted out and then thrown on his face in the Fire of Hell.” (Reported by Muslim, p. 454).
These two points are sufficient to guarantee that the Muslim’s heart will burn with the concern to ensure that he does not miss fajr. The first motivates him to strive to earn the reward for fajr, and the second acts as a warning that will deter him from committing the sin of negligence.