What do I do about all the prayers I’ve missed?

Almost everyone who starts praying seriously arrives at this question, usually with a number in mind and a sinking feeling. Separate the two cases, because they are not the same.

The first case is straightforward. If a prayer is missed through sleep or forgetfulness, you pray it when you remember: “If anyone forgets a prayer he should pray that prayer when he remembers it. There is no expiation except to pray the same” — and the Prophet ﷺ then recited: “Indeed, I am Allah. There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance.” (Qur’an 20:14) (Sahih al-Bukhari 597). No penalty, no extra, no guilt owed.

The second case — prayers abandoned knowingly, often for years before someone began practising — is where scholars genuinely differ, and this app will not choose for you:

• One position holds that the debt stands and every missed prayer must be made up, often gradually, a few alongside each day’s prayers, for as long as it takes.
• Another holds that a prayer deliberately left past its time cannot be recovered by repeating it later, because its time was part of the obligation. What is asked instead is sincere repentance, praying consistently from now on, and increasing voluntary prayers, which are said to make up shortfalls.

Both positions are held by serious scholars, and each has a coherent argument. What they agree on is more useful than what divides them: start praying now, do not wait until you feel ready, and do not let the size of the backlog become the reason you never begin. Despair over the past is the one response that helps nothing.

Because the answer turns on your own history and on which school’s reasoning you follow, this is one to put to a scholar who can hear the specifics.