to Ṣilah ibn Zufar, who almost understands the matter in the same way as Aḥmad does, and says: "What benefit is there in 'There is no deity but Allāh' for them, when they do not know what prayer is..." Ḥudhayfah responds to him after turning away: "O Ṣilah, it saves them from the Fire." Three times. This is a text from Ḥudhayfah (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu) indicating that one who abandons prayer, and similarly the rest of the pillars, is not a disbeliever, but rather a Muslim saved from eternal damnation in the Fire on the Day of Judgment. So remember this, as you may not find it elsewhere. There is a supported ḥadīth that attests to this, and perhaps we will mention it later, if Allāh Almighty wills. Then I came across "al-Fatāwá al-Ḥadīthiyyah" (84/2) by al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Sakhāwī, where I saw him saying after citing some of the well-known ḥadīths regarding declaring the one who abandons prayer as a disbeliever: "But all of this is only taken at face value regarding one who abandons it while denying its existence, especially if he was raised among Muslims, for he would then be a disbeliever and apostate by consensus of the Muslims. If he returns to Islam, it is accepted from him; otherwise, he is executed. As for the one who abandons it without excuse, but out of laziness while believing in its obligation, the correct and explicit view held by the majority is that he is not a disbeliever, and also correctly, after missing a single prayer beyond its required time—such as leaving ẓuhr until sunset or maghrib until dawn—he is to be asked to repent as an apostate is, and then executed if he does not repent. He is washed, prayed over, and buried in the Muslim cemeteries, with all other Islamic rulings applied to him. The declaration of disbelief upon him is interpreted as sharing some rulings with the disbeliever. It is the obligation of action, reconciling these texts with what is also authentically reported from him (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) that he said: "Five prayers Allāh has prescribed"—and he mentioned the ḥadīth. In it: "If He wills, He punishes him, and if He wills, He forgives him." He also said: "Whoever dies knowing that there is no deity but Allāh will enter Paradise," and so forth. For this reason, Muslims have always inherited from and bequeathed to those who abandon prayer, and if he were a disbeliever, he would not be forgiven, nor would he inherit or be inherited from." Shaykh Sulaymān ibn Shaykh ʿAbd Allāh mentioned something similar in his "Ḥāshiyah ʿalá al-Muqniʿ."