The ruling on one who prays without ablution and continues to do so

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. Based on the Hanbali position on the discretionary punishment (ta'zir) for one who prays without performing ablution, and the Hanafi position that he is a disbeliever, what is the ruling if a person continues this practice? Is he considered one who abandons prayer? Since there is scholarly consensus (ijma') that the prayer of one who prays without ablution is invalid, he becomes...?

Answer:
This is one who treats it as permissible. If he repeats this, praying without ablution, he is one who treats it as permissible and will be a disbeliever according to all scholars. The disagreement is only if he prays once. But if he repeats this and persists in it, praying without ritual purity, then he is one who treats it as permissible and is negligent, and he is a disbeliever according to all scholars. Yes.