Is it obligatory for one who repents from abandoning the prayer to make up the missed prayers?

Question:
What is the ruling for one who did not pray, then repented and became upright? Is he required to make up the prayers he missed in the past years?

Answer:
The correct view is that he is not required to make them up. Rather, when he repents to Allah, he maintains the prayers in the future. As for before his repentance, he was a disbeliever. One who abandons the prayer intentionally is a disbeliever, as the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And he was a disbeliever in his abandonment of the prayer. So when he repented, he entered Islam anew, maintaining the prayer in the future.