I say, and with God's help: The one who abandons prayer has two situations: either he abandons it out of denial or laziness. The first: the one who abandons prayer out of denial and rejection of it: he is a disbeliever; because prayer is an obligation established by definitive evidence, and whoever denies an obligation is a disbeliever. The second: the one who abandons prayer deliberately out of frivolity and laziness: he is a sinner, and he should be detained until he prays; because he is detained for the right of the servant, and the right of God is more rightful. The evidence for this is from Ubadah, may God be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of God, peace be upon him, said: "Five prayers that God has made obligatory upon His servants; whoever comes with them and completes them without neglecting them out of disdain for their rights, he has a covenant with God to enter him into Paradise, and whoever comes with them while neglecting them out of disdain for their rights, he has no covenant with God; if He wills, He punishes him, and if He wills, He shows him mercy." This is found in Sahih Ibn Hibban 5: 23, and in the selected hadiths 8: 365, and in Sunan Abu Dawood 2: 62, and in Sunan Al-Nasa'i Al-Kubra 1: 142, and in Al-Mujtabi 1: 230, and in Sunan Ibn Majah 1: 449, and in Al-Muwatta 1: 123. In another narration: "Whoever meets Him with them and does not neglect anything from them, he has a covenant with Him to enter him into Paradise, and whoever meets Him while neglecting something from them out of disdain for their rights, he meets Him without a covenant; if He wills, He punishes him, and if He wills, He forgives him." This is found in Musnad Ahmad 5: 322, and in Mushkil Al-Athar 4: 194. And from Ka'b ibn Ujrah Al-Ansari, may God be pleased with him, who said: "The Messenger of God, peace be upon him, came out to us while we were in the mosque, seven of us, three from our Arabs and four from our freedmen, and he said: What is keeping you here? We said: Prayer. He then pointed with his finger to the ground, then he lowered it for a while, then he raised his head to us and said: Do you know what your Lord says? We said: God and His Messenger know best. He said: He says: Whoever prays the prayer at its time and establishes its limits, he has a covenant with God that when he comes to Him, He will enter him into Paradise, and whoever does not establish the prayer at its time and does not establish its limits, he has no covenant with Me; if I wish, I will enter him into the Fire, and if I wish, I will enter him into Paradise." This is found in Mushkil Al-Athar 4: 200, and in Sunan Al-Darimi 1: 303, and in Musnad Abd ibn Hamid 1: 145. Imam Al-Tahawi said in Mushkil Al-Athar 4: 201: "And in both of their hadiths: And if He wills, He enters him into Paradise, it indicates that he is not taken out of Islam to be considered an apostate; because God, Glory be to Him, does not enter Paradise anyone who associates partners with Him; as He, Glory be to Him, says: (Indeed, whoever associates partners with God, God has forbidden him Paradise) Al-Ma'idah: 73, and He does not forgive him; as He, Glory be to Him, says: (Indeed, God does not forgive that partners be associated with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills) An-Nisa: 48." This is more appropriate by analogy; because God's obligations upon His servants are at specific times, including: the five prayers, and among them: fasting the month of Ramadan. Whoever deliberately abandons fasting the month of Ramadan without denying its obligation is not a disbeliever nor an apostate from Islam; thus, the same applies to the one who abandons prayer until its time passes without denying it or disbelieving in it, so he is not an apostate nor is he out of Islam. See: Mushkil Al-Athar 4: 206, and Tanweer Al-Absar and Al-Durr Al-Mukhtar 1: 235, and God knows best.