Is the one who abandons prayer out of negligence a disbeliever with major disbelief?

Q: I heard on the program *Nur 'ala al-Darb* that the one who abandons prayer out of negligence is a disbeliever with a disbelief that takes him out of the religion. However, the Shafi'is say in the book *Al-Nafahat al-Samadiyyah* that he is asked to repent and is killed if he does not repent, and that he is prayed over, washed, and buried in the graves of Muslims. What is your opinion?

A: The texts from the Book and the Sunnah indicate that abandoning prayer out of negligence is among the greatest of major sins and among the most serious of crimes. This is because prayer is the pillar of Islam and its greatest pillar after the two testimonies. Therefore, abandoning it is among the ugliest of abominations and the greatest of major sins.
The scholars differed on the ruling of the one who abandons it: whether he becomes a disbeliever with major disbelief if he does not deny its obligation, or whether his ruling is the ruling of the people of major sins.
There are two positions among the scholars of knowledge:
Some said: He becomes a disbeliever with minor disbelief, as the questioner mentioned regarding the Shafi'is, and likewise regarding the Maliki, Hanafi, and some Hanbali scholars. They said that what was transmitted regarding declaring him a disbeliever is to be understood as a disbelief less than disbelief, and they relied on the hadiths indicating that whoever dies upon the oneness of Allah and abandons associating partners with Allah will have Paradise.
As for the one who denies its obligation, the scholars have agreed that he is a disbeliever with major disbelief, unlike the case where he abandons it out of negligence only while believing in its obligation.
Some scholars of knowledge said: The one who abandons it is a disbeliever with major disbelief, even if he does not deny its obligation. This is transmitted from the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). It is established from 'Abdullah ibn Shaqiq al-'Aqili, the noble Tabi'i, that he said: "The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not consider anything whose abandonment was disbelief except prayer."
It is known that slandering lineages and wailing over the dead are types of disbelief, but it is minor disbelief. Thus, it is known that his intended meaning was: that abandoning prayer is major disbelief in their view. And this is the correct position, due to many pieces of evidence, among which is: what is established in *Sahih Muslim*, from Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) , from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: And among them is: what was narrated by Imam Ahmad, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, and Ibn Majah with a sound chain, from Buraydah ibn al-Husayb (may Allah be pleased with him) , from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: And among them is: his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) when he was asked about the rulers who abandon some of what Allah has obligated upon them and engage in some of what Allah has forbidden, "Shall we not fight them?" He said: And in another wording: This indicates that abandoning prayer is open disbelief.
And this is the correct position as mentioned earlier, even if those who hold it are fewer than those who say it is minor disbelief. However, the criterion is the evidence, not the number of people. Allah the Exalted and Majestic says: [Al-Nisa: 59] And He says (may He be exalted) : [Al-Shura: 10].
The legal evidence stands that abandoning it is major disbelief, even if the one who abandons it does not deny its obligation. And by this, it is known that the one who dies upon abandoning prayer is not considered among the people of the oneness of Allah; because his abandonment of prayer invalidated his oneness of Allah. Just as the one who insults Allah the Exalted, or insults His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), or mocks the religion, or considers lawful what Allah has forbidden, such as unlawful sexual intercourse or intoxicants, or denies what Allah has obligated upon him, such as prayer and zakah—even if he dies upon that—is considered a disbeliever whose oneness of Allah has been invalidated by what he committed of the nullifiers of Islam.