This is a decisive text on the matter. As for the words of the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—listen to what ʿAbd Allāh ibn Shuqayq, one of the well-known Successors, said: “The Companions of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) did not regard the abandonment of any deed as disbelief except the prayer.” Ishāq ibn Rāhwayh, the famous imam, together with other scholars, has transmitted the consensus of the Companions that whoever abandons the prayer is a disbeliever. And even if it is supposed that someone among them dissented, the vast majority—those qualified to issue legal verdicts—still hold that he is a disbeliever.

These, then, are proofs drawn from the speech of Allah, the speech of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and the speech of the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them. ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb—may Allah be pleased with him, and what an authority he is—said: “There is no share in Islam for the one who abandons the prayer.” Here the particle lā negates the entire genus, excluding both little and much; therefore, the one who has absolutely no share in Islam is nothing but a disbeliever. Hence, whoever abandons the prayer is a disbeliever.

Abandoning the prayer entails both worldly and other-worldly consequences. As for the worldly consequences: first, he is summoned to perform the prayer; if he prays, well and good, but if he refuses he is executed. This is an obligation that rests squarely upon the authorities, and if they fall short in this, Allah the Exalted will question them