Does one who establishes a playground next to a mosque, where children play during prayer times and miss prayers because of it, bear sin, and will his intention of entertaining the children intercede on his behalf?

Congregational prayer is obligatory for free, sane, able-bodied men. It is not obligatory for women, slaves, children, or those with excuses. As for unpubertized children, prayer is not obligatory for them, let alone congregational prayer. It is recommended to accustom them to it and command them to perform it at the age of seven, and to discipline them for neglecting it at the age of ten.

If a man strives to establish a playground with the intention of safeguarding children and entertaining them with permissible activities, and it is not within his power to prevent them from playing during prayer times, then there is no sin upon him. However, if it is within his power to prevent them, and the children are adults, and he does not prevent them, then this is an act of cooperation in sin. And if it is not within his power to prevent them, and the children are young, then his action is disliked because it opens a door to accustoming them to abandoning congregational prayer.