It has been reported through several chains of transmission that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“Whoever drinks wine, flog him. Then, if he drinks it again, flog him. Then, if he drinks it again, flog him. Then, if he drinks it a third or fourth time, execute him.”
Thus, he commanded that the drinker be executed on the third or fourth occasion. Most scholars, however, do not regard execution as obligatory; rather, they consider this hadith abrogated. This is the well-known position in the schools of the imams.
Some scholars say that if people will not desist from drinking except through execution, this is permissible. Likewise, another hadith in the Sunan collections states that he forbade them certain kinds of drinks and said:
“If they do not give that up, execute them.”
The correct position is what has already been stated. It is established in the Sahīh:
“A man called Hammār used to drink wine. Whenever he drank, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would have him flogged. A man cursed him, saying, ‘May Allah curse him! How often he is brought before the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him!’ He replied, ‘Do not curse him, for he loves Allah and His Messenger.’”
This indicates that he was flogged despite his repeated drinking.
As for someone who abandons prayer, the imams agree that he deserves punishment. Most of them—including Mālik, al-Shāfi‘ī, and Ahmad—say that he must be called upon to repent: if he repents, he is spared; otherwise, he is executed. There are two views as to whether he is executed as an unbeliever who has apostatized or as a sinful person, like others guilty of major sins.
If the prescribed punishment cannot be carried out on such a person, whatever measures are possible should be taken: he should be shunned and rebuked until he performs what is obligatory and abandons what is forbidden, and is no longer among those of whom Allah said:
“But they were succeeded by generations who neglected prayer and followed their desires; so they will meet ruin.”
Neglecting prayer here means delaying it beyond its appointed time—so what, then, of abandoning it altogether?