How should a wife deal with her husband who does not pray despite her repeated attempts to urge him to do so, and is it forbidden to cohabit with such a husband?

One who abandons prayer is of two types: One who denies its obligatory nature; this person is an apostate disbeliever, and his wife must separate from him. The second type is one who acknowledges its obligation but is lazy in performing it; this person is a sinful Muslim, whose sin is less than polytheism but greater than all other sins. His wife is not separated from him; rather, she should try to bring him back to prayer. Some imams have held that abandoning prayer constitutes disbelief absolutely, whether one denies its obligation or is merely lazy. If the wife does not succeed in advising and reminding him, and he insists on abandoning prayer, then she should seek a divorce.