A Comparative Study of the Ruling on One Who Abandons Prayer from the Perspective of Ibn Taymiyyah and Wahhabism

In defining faith, several pillars are considered essential: verbal and heart affirmation, and action by tongue, heart, and limbs. This view also has traditional support among Sunnis. Nevertheless, physical action is considered one of the important pillars of faith. However, the question arises: Is an act like prayer complementary to faith, or is it an integral part of faith such that if a person abandons it, their faith is also lost? This paper examines the view of Ibn Taymiyyah and Wahhabism on one who abandons prayer. Do Ibn Taymiyyah and Wahhabism consider one who abandons an act like prayer to be among the disbelievers or not?
From the Wahhabi perspective, abandoning prayer has various classifications. One category includes those who deny prayer, who are considered outside the realm of Islam according to Ibn Taymiyyah and Wahhabism. In another category, if a person believes in the obligation of prayer but abandons it out of laziness, Ibn Taymiyyah and some Wahhabis like Ibn Uthaymeen consider this person a sinful Muslim. Other Wahhabis like Ibn Baz, Fawzan, and the rulings of the Standing Committee consider such a person a disbeliever. A third view, belonging to the founder of Wahhabism, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, is that abandoning an act is not equivalent to disbelief, but a Muslim can be put to death for abandoning an act