A man who left the prayer for several years while studying abroad and left fasting for three years, and when he returned to his country he repented, does he have to make up the prayer?

The questioner : A man left the prayer for several years while studying abroad and left fasting for three years, and when he returned to his country he repented. Does he have to make up the prayer and the fasting?

The Shaykh : It is not obligatory for him to make up the prayer and the fasting for the past, but he must repent to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and increase in acts of obedience: prayer, dhikr, charity, fasting, Hajj, and 'Umrah. For good deeds erase bad deeds. This is a principle that a person should take to heart. Every act of worship that is limited by a time, if a person performs it outside its time without a valid legal excuse, he does not make it up, because if he did make it up, it would not be valid from him. This is due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): which is rejected from him. And it is well known that whoever delays the time-bound prayer, or indeed any time-bound act of worship, until its time has passed and then performs it, has done a deed for which there is no command from Allah and His Messenger. Thus, it is rejected, and at that point, there is no benefit for him in performing the act of worship. Rather, he must repent to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and return to Him, and Allah accepts the repentance of whoever repents.

The questioner : May Allah reward you. This questioner says, oh.