Living in the desert, neglecting prayer, fasting, and other duties due to ignorance

Question:
May Allah reward you with good and do you well. A message was sent by a listener who indicated his name with the letters Ayn and Mīm. He says: You have told me that in my youth I used to not pray and did not know what was obligatory upon me regarding my prayer, its types, its obligations, its pillars, and so on. This is because I live in the desert and we have no guides to the religion. I was abandoning my prayer, but now, praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, I have repented to Allah with a sincere repentance. I have missed fasting for twelve years due to my ignorance at that time. The question is about fasting for those years: Am I required to make them up, or what do you advise me to do? May Allah preserve you and reward you with good for me.

Answer:
It is obligatory for you to repent to Allah, to maintain the prayer, fasting, and the rest of your religious affairs, and to avoid what Allah has forbidden for you. As for what has passed, Allah forgives it. Allah the Exalted said: And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Islam wipes out what came before it, and repentance wipes out what came before it." So you must maintain the prayers, maintain fasting, and maintain the rest of the matters of religion in the future of your life.
And what has passed, Allah forgives it through repentance, especially since you mentioned that you are in an ignorant environment where nothing of knowledge or light reaches, and you have no one to teach you. These are the reasons for falling into what you mentioned. But when Allah granted you repentance, you heard of the knowledge that caused your repentance to Allah the Exalted and Majestic. This is a blessing from Allah, so you must thank Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), hold fast to this religion until death, and ask for steadfastness upon this religion, seeking steadfastness from Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).