Is it permissible to act upon the fatwa of Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen that whoever abandons prayer out of negligence is not a disbeliever, even though the questioner knows that there is a consensus, conveyed by Ishaq ibn Rahawayh, that declares the deliberate abandoner of prayer a disbeliever even if its time has expired, and that the questioner inclines towards the Sheikh's opinion but hesitates due to the consensus?

The issue of abandoning prayer is one of the ancient points of contention among scholars. One group considers it an act of disbelief that expels one from the faith, as stated by Ahmad and Ishaq. They differ on whether disbelief occurs by abandoning a single prayer, or more, or by abandoning it entirely, and whether he must be invited to pray. The other group, who are the majority of jurists, believes that the hadiths about disbelief are meant as a warning and that one who abandons prayer does not leave the faith. Since the disagreement is considerable, there is no harm in following what Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen preferred. The consensus attributed to Ishaq ibn Rahawayh regarding the disbelief of one who abandons prayer is a weak opinion. The correct view is that there is no consensus among the Salaf on this issue. Ishaq's statement can be interpreted as referring to someone who refuses to pray and is invited to do so, yet rejects it even to the point of being killed. Such a person would be a disbeliever by the agreement of Muslims. The more apparent view is that there is a dispute among the Salaf regarding this issue.