Ruling on one who abandons the prayer – Part 1/5

Q: “What is the ruling on the one who abandons the prayer? And what is the difference between kufr `amali (disbelief of the limbs) and kufr i`tiqaadi (disbelief of the heart)?”

Shaikh al-Albaani:

“The one who abandons the prayer has two states: either he believes that the prayer is legislated or he denies it. So in this second state, he is a disbeliever by consensus of the Muslims. The same goes for whoever denies a matter that is ma`loom min ad-deen bidh-dharoorah (known by every Muslim to be part of the religion without having to study it in order to know it) – for instance, whoever denies fasting then such a person is a disbeliever, or whoever denies Hajj, or any other matter that is ma`loom min ad-deen bidh-dharoorah. So there is no difference of opinion about this: whoever denies the prayer’s being legislated is…