Question : Is a person who leavesoff fasting due to laziness and heedlessness like the one that leaves off prayer in the respect that he is a disbeliever (kaafir)?
Response : The one that leaves off fasting out of heedlessness and laziness is not a disbeliever. That is because the basic rule is that a person remains upon his Islaam until sufficient proof shows that he is outside Islaam. There is no proof that the personthat leaves off fasting is outside the fold of Islaam if he left it due to laziness and heedlessness. Thisis not the same as prayer because the texts from the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) and the sayings of thecompanions all show that the person that leaves off praying through heedlessness and laziness is a disbeliever (kaafir.). 'Abdullaah ibn Shaqeeq said:"…the companions of the Messenger of Allaah (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) didn't consider as disbelief (kufr) the leaving off of any actions except prayer". It is obligatory to call thisperson who is neglecting to fast due to laziness and heedlessness to fast. If he refuses he should bebanished until he fasts.
Shaykh Ibn al-'Uthaymeen / (Fataawa Ramadan, Volume 1/Page 51/Fatwa No.18)/ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en