If a Muslim man stopped praying for more than a year and then repented, does he have to make up the prayers?
The Muslim Ummah has reached a consensus that prayer () is obligatory upon every sane, adult Muslim. It is the greatest pillar of Islam after the two Shahadas (declarations of faith). Whoever denies its obligation is an apostate disbeliever. As for one who abandons it out of laziness, the majority of imams hold that he should be asked to repent; if he repents, then well and good, otherwise he is to be killed. The Malikis and Shafi'is view his killing as a hadd punishment, not for disbelief, while the Hanbalis hold that he is killed for disbelief, which is the more apparent view due to the abundance of evidence indicating the disbelief of one who abandons prayer out of laziness. Accordingly, whoever abandons prayer out of laziness must renew his faith and repent to Allah with sincere repentance, and increase in acts of obedience. He is not obligated to make up the prayers or fasts he missed, but making them up is preferable as a precaution.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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