Does the one who abandons prayer commit disbelief that takes him out of the religion?

Question:
Does the one who abandons prayer commit disbelief that takes him out of the religion of Islam, or does he not?

Answer:
The one who abandons prayer is in one of two states:
The first is that he abandons prayer while denying its obligation, believing that it is not obligatory for him while he is a person of legal age. This makes him a disbeliever with major shirk (associating partners with Allah) by the consensus of the scholars. Whoever denies its obligation is a disbeliever by the consensus of the Muslims. Likewise, whoever denies the obligation of zakah (the obligatory alms), or denies the obligation of fasting Ramadan for a person of legal age, or denies the obligation of Hajj (the major pilgrimage) when one has the means, or denies the prohibition of zina (unlawful sexual intercourse) and says it is lawful, or denies the prohibition of khamr (intoxicants) and says it is lawful, or denies the prohibition of riba (usury or interest) and says it is lawful—all of these are disbelievers by the consensus of the Muslims.
The second state is the one who abandons it out of negligence and laziness while knowing that it is obligatory. There is a disagreement among the scholars regarding this; some declared him a disbeliever with major shirk (associating partners with Allah), stating that he exits the religion of Islam and becomes an apostate, just as the one who denies its obligation. He is not washed, nor is the funeral prayer performed for him when he dies, nor is he buried with the Muslims, nor do his Muslim relatives inherit from him. This is based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the authentic hadith: narrated by Muslim. This is explicit from him (peace and blessings be upon him) in declaring him a disbeliever.
Disbelief and shirk (associating partners with Allah), when used in their general definition, refer to major disbelief and major shirk. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It was recorded by Imam Ahmad and the people of the four Sunan collections with a sound chain from Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him), along with other hadiths that came in this chapter.
Others among the scholars said: He does not commit major shirk (associating partners with Allah) with this, but rather it is minor shirk; because he is a monotheist who testifies that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and he believes that it is an obligation upon him. They likened it to zakah (the obligatory alms), fasting, and Hajj (the major pilgrimage), stating that one who abandons them is not a disbeliever, but rather a sinner who has committed a great crime, but he does not commit major shirk (associating partners with Allah) with it.
The correct opinion is the first one, because prayer has a great status different from the status of zakah (the obligatory alms), fasting, and Hajj (the major pilgrimage). It is greater than zakah (the obligatory alms), fasting, and Hajj (the major pilgrimage). It follows the two testimonies and is the pillar of Islam. As he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
Among the evidence for this is what is established in the hadith from Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As (may Allah be pleased with them both) in Musnad Ahmad with a good chain from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he mentioned prayer one day among his Companions and said: Some of the scholars said: The fact that he is gathered with these people indicates that he is a disbeliever with major shirk (associating partners with Allah); because his being gathered with the heads of the disbelievers indicates that he has become like them. End of quote.