The ruling on one who denies creation or rejects something that is necessarily known to be part of the religion

Abu Muṭīʿ said: I asked Abū Ḥanīfa—may Allah have mercy on him—“If a person is certain of this and acknowledges it, is he therefore a believer?” He replied, “Yes. Once he affirms this, he has affirmed the entirety of Islam and is a believer.”

I then asked, “What if he denies something among Allah’s creation and says, ‘I do not know who created this’?” He answered, “That is disbelief, for Allah Most High says, ‘He is the Creator of all things’ (Qur’an 6:102). It is as though such a person were claiming that something has a creator other than Allah.

“In the same way, if someone were to say, ‘I do not know that Allah has made prayer, fasting, and zakah obligatory upon me,’ he would fall into disbelief. Allah Most High says, ‘Establish prayer and give zakah’ (Qur’an 2:43); and He says, ‘Fasting has been prescribed for you’ (Qur’an 2:183); and He says, ‘So exalt Allah when you reach the evening and when you rise in the morning; to Him belongs all praise in the heavens and on the earth, at nightfall and when you enter upon noon’ (Qur’an 30:17-18).

“If, however, he were to say, ‘I believe in this verse…’