What is the ruling on killing a person who abandons prayer (Salat)?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of the Apostate
Primary text
The ruling regarding the killing of one who abandons prayer, whether he denies its obligation or not, has been previously explained in a dedicated chapter. There is no disagreement among the scholars regarding the disbelief (kufr) of one who abandons prayer while denying its obligation, provided he is from a population group where such an obligation should not be unknown to him.
Supporting text
If the person abandoning prayer is one whose knowledge of the obligation is excused, such as a recent convert to Islam, someone raised outside the lands of Islam, or someone from a remote wilderness far from cities and scholars, his disbelief is not ruled upon immediately. His situation must be clarified, and the evidence for the obligation of prayer must be established for him. If he denies the obligation after this clarification, then he is deemed an apostate (kafir). Similarly, this applies to the other pillars of Islam: Zakat, Sawm (fasting), and Hajj, because their obligations are clear from the Quran and Sunnah, and there is a consensus upon them; only a stubborn adversary of Islam would deny them.