Was Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab of the view that a person who abandons prayer out of laziness is not an infidel? And is his fatwa consistent with the current fatwa of the Council of Senior Scholars? If this is true, where can it be found in his books?

We have come across a statement by Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab indicating that he does not declare someone a disbeliever if they affirm the four pillars but abandon them out of negligence. He also has another statement that frames the disagreement around a person who is called to prayer and refuses, even while acknowledging its obligation, specifically whether they should be executed for apostasy or as a Hadd punishment, branching from the dispute between the Salaf and the Jahmiyyah. The Hanbali madhhab rules that one who abandons prayer is to be declared a disbeliever if called to it and refuses. The Sheikh followed their madhhab except where evidence contradicted it. No statement should be attributed to him regarding this issue except after referring to his epistles and writings, especially since it is well-established and famous from his sons that they declare one who abandons prayer out of laziness and negligence to be a disbeliever.