I abandon prayer, and years pass while I remain neglectful of it. What is the remedy? What is the way back?

Answer

In the name of Allah, one of the signs of a true believer is that he establishes prayer. Allah the Exalted says: “Those who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them” [Qur'an 2:3]. You must remember your standing before Allah on the Day of Judgment for accountability, where you will see posts and whips in the hands of angels, and you will have no return to this world—so what will your state be then? If there were a fully empowered religious authority, he would discipline you with lashes so you would submit to the religion, whose foremost pillar is prayer. Allah knows best.