Sayyiduna Buraidah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: On cloudy (i.e., overcast) days, perform the prayer early, for whoever abandons the prayer has committed disbelief. (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) Here, the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has applied the term disbelief to the one who abandons the prayer because abandoning the prayer is the initial stage of disbelief. When a person abandons the prayer and makes it a habit, he sets out on the path of abandoning other obligations, and when he becomes accustomed to abandoning the obligations, this leads him towards denial. Thus, the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has used the final name, which is the last part among the branches of disbelief, for the beginning, which is its first branch, and that is abandoning the prayer.