Will sincere repentance and a fresh start be sufficient for me to make up for ten years of missed fasting and prayers, by analogy with "Islam nullifies what preceded it"?

We praise Allah for the questioner's repentance and give her glad tidings with His saying, Exalted is He: {Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful"} [Quran 39:53], and with the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "The one who repents from sin is like one who has no sin."

Sincere repentance erases sins, but it does not absolve one from the rights of people, expiations, or missed acts of worship. The questioner must make up for the prayers and fasting she missed to the best of her ability. This is the fatwa we issue for our website, even if it differs from the opinion of some scholars.

The hijab does not have to be black. A woman may wear any color she wishes, provided that it is not an adornment in itself and does not involve imitating men.