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Alhamdulillah, it's heartening to see your commitment to repentance and making up for missed prayers. Recognizing the importance of Salah and taking steps towards fulfilling this obligation is a significant move towards strengthening your faith and relationship with Allah. May Allah accept your repentance, grant you steadfastness in your prayers, and shower His mercy upon you.

First and foremost, sincere repentance (Tawbah) is required. This involves feeling remorse, which means truly regretting the missed prayers. It also includes seeking forgiveness by asking Allah for forgiveness with a sincere heart. Finally, it entails resolving not to repeat the mistake, which involves making a firm intention to be diligent in performing future prayers.

The daily five prayers (Salah) are the second pillar of Islam and hold immense importance in a Muslim’s life. They are a direct link between the worshipper and Allah, offering an opportunity for spiritual growth, discipline, and a constant reminder of the divine presence. The Quran emphasizes the significance of Salah in numerous verses. For instance: "Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times." (Surah An-Nisa, 4:103)

There are scholars who assert that a person who abandons prayer, even out of negligence, is considered a disbeliever based on the apparent meaning of the hadiths indicating that abandoning prayer is equivalent to disbelief. However, the majority of jurists maintain that such a person is not considered a disbeliever but as a major and the most serious sin.

Making up Missed Prayers

It is obligatory to make up missed prayers (Qada’) even if they were missed unintentionally, according to the consensus of scholars. This consensus has been reported by Ibn Rushd, Ibn Qudamah, al-Nawawi, and others. Similarly, making up deliberately missed prayers is also obligatory according to the four schools of fiqh, and this practice has been followed by both earlier and later generations. Al-Nawawi even reported the consensus of reputable scholars on this matter and considered those who disagreed as having broken this consensus. (Sharah Al-Muhadhab)

The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: "Whoever forgets a prayer or sleeps and misses it, the expiation for it is to pray it as soon as he remembers." (Sahih Muslim). He also said: "Fulfill Allah's right, for Allah is more deserving that His rights be fulfilled." (Sahih Bukhari).

One must make up for missed prayers regardless of how many there are. The order of the prayers can be disregarded if the number of missed prayers exceeds a day. If a person does not know the exact number of missed prayers, they should continue making them up until they are confident that their obligation has been fulfilled.

Imam al-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, said in "Al-Majmu'": "Our school of thought (Shafi'i) holds that it is not obligatory to perform missed prayers in order, but it is recommended. …. Abu Hanifa and Malik, however, said that it is obligatory to perform them in order unless the missed prayers exceed those of a day and a night."

Scholars are of the opinion that one should spend maximum time possible in making the up the missed prayers. Al-Hattab, who is also a Maliki scholar, said in "Mawahib al-Jalil": Sheikh Zarrouq stated in his commentary on "Al-Risalah": "The author of 'Al-Risalah' said: 'Whoever has many missed prayers should perform them at any time, whether night or day, at sunrise, or sunset, and in whatever manner he can, whether few or many, as long as it does not lead to negligence. There is no specific limit to this; rather, one should strive to the best of their ability.'"

It is mentioned in [Bushrā al-Karīm] a book of Shafie School: "It is obligatory to hasten in making up missed prayers if they were missed without a valid excuse, as a form of severity upon the individual. One must dedicate all their time to this task, except for the necessary time needed to earn a living, fulfill other pressing obligations that are feared to be missed, and activities such as sleeping and eating. It is not permissible for him to engage in voluntary prayers until he has completed making up the missed ones."

Practical Steps for Making Up Missed Prayers:

• Estimate the number of missed prayers: Calculate the approximate number of prayers missed.
• Regular Schedule: Incorporate the missed prayers into your daily routine. For example, perform an additional number of Qada’ prayers after each current obligatory prayer until all missed prayers are made up. (Pray specified number of Fajr after Fajr, Dhuhr after Dhur, Asr after Asr and so on) 
• Prioritize Obligatory Over Voluntary: Focus on making up missed obligatory prayers over performing voluntary prayers.

The door to repentance is always open, and making up for missed prayers is a clear sign of sincere repentance and a commitment to fulfilling one's duties.

May Allah accept the efforts and grant steadfastness in worship.