Is the one who prays and then abandons it considered a disbeliever?

Question : Is the ruling you hold regarding the one who abandons prayer specific to the one who abandons it entirely, or does it include the one who abandons it only at certain times? May Allah reward you with good.

Answer : Yes, my view is that he does not become a disbeliever unless he abandons it entirely. As for the one who prays and then abandons it, he does not become a disbeliever, but he is an open sinner, may Allah protect us from that, and he is outside the scope of hostility. Some scholars have held that he becomes a disbeliever by abandoning a single prayer if he intentionally abandons it; in that case, he becomes a disbeliever.