Is it obligatory to make up prayers missed over several years?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : A questioner says: I am a person who has not prayed for several years. Is it obligatory for me to make up the missed prayers?
The Shaykh : The correct view is that it is not obligatory for you to make them up, and if you did make them up, they would not be accepted, because you made them up after the time had passed. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 1718b. Be content, but improve your deeds, achieve repentance, turn to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and always ask Him for forgiveness and turning back to Him. Keep this sin before your eyes, and whenever you remember it, repent to Allah. We ask Allah to accept our repentance and yours.
The Shaykh : The correct view is that it is not obligatory for you to make them up, and if you did make them up, they would not be accepted, because you made them up after the time had passed. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
He who did any act for which there is no sanction from our behalf, that
مَنْ عَمِلَ عَمَلاً لَيْسَ عَلَيْهِ أَمْرُنَا فَهُوَ
Source
دروس وفتاوى المسجد الحرام لعام 1421هـ - 3 — binothaimeen.net (29:15)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.