Ruling on the statement: Abandoning prayer is not disbelief

Question:
Some people say: There is no god but Allah, yet they do not pray, and they tell you: I am a believer, and I ask Allah to guide me to prayer one day. Is this person a believer by virtue of this word he pronounces? And how do we respond to those who say: Abandoning prayer is not disbelief?

Answer:
The one who says: There is no god but Allah, this is the truth of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) if he is sincere in it and affirms the oneness of Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He). However, he must also avoid the causes of apostasy that negate and invalidate it. If he says: There is no god but Allah, but he does not pray, he becomes a disbeliever. Or if he says: Prayer is not obligatory, he becomes a disbeliever. Or if he says: Zina (unlawful sexual intercourse) is lawful, he becomes a disbeliever. Or if he says: Intoxicants are lawful, he becomes a disbeliever. Or if he calls upon graves and the people in the graves and seeks their aid, he becomes a disbeliever, and his statement "There is no god but Allah" is invalidated.
One must say: There is no god but Allah, and confirm it with his deeds and words. As for negating it with his words or deeds, it is invalidated. This is like the one who performs wudu' (the ablution for prayer) and then breaks it by passing wind or urinating; his wudu' is invalidated. The one who says: There is no god but Allah, and affirms the oneness of Allah, then insults the religion, or mocks the religion, or abandons prayer, or considers zina and intoxicants lawful and says: It is lawful, or the like of that, or calls upon the dead or seeks aid from the jinn, his tawhid is invalidated. This is like the one who breaks his purity after performing it; his purity is invalidated, his wudu' is invalidated, his worship is invalidated, and his tawhid is invalidated—may Allah protect us from that. He becomes an apostate from Islam. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And he must be brought to the one in authority, and if he repents, well and good; otherwise, he is killed.
And the response to those who say that the one who abandons prayer does not become a disbeliever is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Narrated by Muslim in the Sahih. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And he said: If the pillar falls, the tent collapses.