The Ruling on the One Who Abandons Prayer Out of Negligence and a Discussion of a Treatise on the Subject

Question:
And this person says: I read in a small treatise on the ruling of abandoning prayer, and the author of it stated that the one who abandons prayer out of negligence agrees with the Khawarij and meets them, and that deeds are a condition for the perfection of faith, and that Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) did not find an answer to some of the questions he raised in his book *The Prayer and the Ruling on Abandoning It*. He says that this treatise is small and circulated, and that there are those who study it and explain it. The one who abandons prayer is a disbeliever, and even if he says what he says, the one who abandons prayer is a disbeliever by the Qur'an and the Sunnah. This indicates that if they do not establish the prayer, there is no way for them.

Answer:
They were not killed, because they were not killed in Islam. And the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Between the servant and disbelief and shirk (associating partners with Allah) is the abandonment of prayer." This is explicit, because the one who abandons prayer is a disbeliever. He did not say that the one who abandons it while denying its existence is a disbeliever. Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Between the servant and disbelief and shirk is the abandonment of prayer." So whoever abandons it has passed the boundary. Does anyone have a word with the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)? He says what he wills, but this is the word of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Allah the Exalted said regarding the people of the Fire: "What was your matter in the pit?" They said: "We were not among those who prayed." This was their first answer. They said: "We were not among those who prayed." And this person says: No, they are not disbelievers. This means that they are in Paradise. And Allah the Exalted said: "What was your matter in the pit?" This was their first answer. Allah the Exalted said: "He did not believe and he did not pray, but he lied and turned away." He equated the abandonment of prayer with the ruling of disbelief and lack of faith. Abandoning faith is unanimously agreed to be disbelief. Likewise, abandoning prayer. He did not believe and he did not pray. So if one does not believe, does anyone say that he is a believer? Likewise, the one who does not pray; Allah equated him with the one who does not believe. So he did not believe and he did not pray. But he lied and turned away. He made the one who abandons prayer a turner away. And close to the one who is hostile to the religion of Allah the Mighty and Majestic. Yes.