Leaving off prayer out of ignorance and not making up the missed prayers

Q: This is a letter we received from the listener: A. A. M. from Sudan, Omdurman. She says in her letter: I did not pray from my childhood until I reached the age of sixteen, and my leaving off prayer was out of ignorance, and I did not make up the missed prayers. But now I pray the voluntary prayers and the confirmed and unconfirmed sunnah prayers, and I do not know whether my doing this is correct or not?

A: Praise be to Allah who has granted you the blessing of repentance, and be glad of the good news. Repentance erases what came before it, and praise be to Allah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So the repentance that has occurred from you, Allah will erase by it what happened of shortcoming in the past regarding leaving off prayer.
As for increasing in voluntary prayer, there is much good in it, by which Allah makes up for the deficiency in the obligatory prayer, along with great rewards. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And this is a great hadith, narrated by al-Bukhari in the Sahih.
And it indicates that drawing near to Allah through voluntary acts is among the causes of the perfection of Allah’s love for the servant, and it indicates that opposing the awliya (close friends of Allah) is among the causes of Allah’s war against the servant and His anger toward him; due to the saying of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) : meaning: I have declared war against him.
And the awliya (close friends of Allah) are the people of faith and the people of taqwa (mindfulness of Allah) among men and women, and they are those who perform the obligations of Allah, and stay away from the prohibitions of Allah, and stand by the limits of Allah. This is the believer, and this is the one who has taqwa, and this is the wali (close friend of Allah). The wali is not the one who has superstitions from the Sufis and their like from the people of innovation. Rather, the awliya (close friends of Allah) are the people of faith, and they are the people of taqwa, even if they are farmers, even if they are workers, even if they are doctors, even if they are engineers, even if they are janitors in the offices. All of them are awliya (close friends of Allah) if they are from the people of faith and taqwa, as Allah the Exalted said: the ones who believed and used to have taqwa [Yunus: 62-63].
He (Glorified and Exalted is He) clarified in this verse that His awliya (close friends of Allah) are the people of taqwa and faith, and they are the people of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), and they are those who worship Allah alone, who have performed His obligations, such as prayer and others, and left the sins. So they are the awliya (close friends of Allah) even if they have not been granted karamat (miracles granted to a righteous person). Most of the Companions were not granted karamat, and they are the best of Allah’s servants, and they are the best of the awliya (close friends of Allah) after the prophets. So the wali (close friend of Allah) is the believing man and the believing woman. And He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said: [Al-Anfal: 34].
And the mentioned hadith indicates that the most beloved thing to Allah is drawing near to Him through the obligations, such as prayers, zakah (the obligatory alms), fasting, Hajj (the major pilgrimage), jihad (struggle in the path of Allah), and enjoining good and forbidding evil.
Then it is recommended for you, O Muslim, to draw near to Him through the voluntary acts, such as the sunnah (recommended practice) of the midday prayer, the sunnah of the sunset prayer, the sunnah of the night prayer, the sunnah of the dawn prayer, your prayer before the afternoon prayer, the sunnah of the forenoon prayer, and the tahajjud (the late-night voluntary prayer) at night. These are voluntary acts that are prescribed for the believer to draw near to Allah with, and to increase in them, and to be consistent with them; so that Allah’s love for him is perfected, and so that he is granted success in his hearing and his sight and his hand and his leg; and so that Allah grants him success so that he does not hear except what Allah has made lawful for him, and does not look except at what Allah has made lawful for him, and does not walk except to what Allah has made lawful for him, and does not strike except with what Allah has made lawful for him; for this reason Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said in this hadith: .
And the meaning is that he is granted success in these matters. It is not the meaning that Allah is his hearing, and that Allah is his sight, and that Allah is his hand and his leg. For He (Glorified and Exalted is He) is above the Throne, and He is the High One above all His creation. But His (Glorified and Exalted is He) intended meaning is that He grants him success in his hearing, and his sight, and his walking, and his striking; for this reason it came in the other narration that He (Glorified and Exalted is He) says: meaning: that He grants him success in his actions, and his words, and his hearing, and his sight. This is its meaning according to the people of the Sunnah and the community. And with that, Allah answers his supplication. If he asks Him, He gives him. If he seeks His help, He helps him. If he seeks His protection, He protects him.
And success is from Allah.