For this reason Imām Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī—may Allah have mercy on him—said in his Mushkil al-Āthār, in the chapter he devoted to this question, after citing some of the proofs offered by both sides and then opting for the view that the person is not declared an unbeliever. He writes (4/228):

“The proof is that we order him to perform the prayer, whereas we do not order an unbeliever to pray. Had his action made him an unbeliever, we would first have commanded him to accept Islam and, once he had done so, we would have ordered him to pray. Our failure to do that and our direct command that he pray show that he still belongs to the people of prayer. Another proof is the Messenger’s ﷺ command to the man who deliberately broke his fast for a day in Ramadan that he make the required expiation, which itself includes fasting—something prescribed only for Muslims.

Just as a man becomes a Muslim by professing Islam before he has carried out the obligations of the five daily prayers and the fast of Ramadan, so too he only becomes an unbeliever by denying those obligations; he does not become an unbeliever merely by neglecting them without denial. A person is deemed an unbeliever only from the same point at which he first became a Muslim, and his entry into Islam was by his affirmation of it; therefore his apostasy can come about only through denying Islam.”

I say: This is sound jurisprudence and a formidable argument that admits no rebuttal. It agrees perfectly with the earlier words of Imām Aḥmad—may Allah have mercy on him—showing that one is not declared an unbeliever for mere neglect but only for refusing to pray after being summoned to do so. ⦗47⦘