I am a young Muslim man who believes in Allah and His Messengers and His Books, praise be to Allah. But sometimes I feel too lazy to pray. I am looking for a solution and a way to make me not be so lazy. Please note that this is what I want but the tricks of the Shaytaan are too strong.

I am from a Muslim background, but I never used to offer the obligatory prayers and even when I tried to pray once, I did not do it right. In other words I did not prepare to do it in the proper manner. I ask Allah to forgive me. I heard that the one who does not pray is a disbeliever and is not a Muslim, but whoever offers the five daily prayers, or one or two of them and omits the rest, is regarded as a Muslim. Also, I did not pay zakah on my wealth, but for at least two years I have completed the fast of Ramadan, and I intend to continue doing so. I want to learn how to pray and make it part of my life, along with other acts of worship. 

Is it obligatory for me to pay zakah for all these many years (when I did not pay it), and to make up the days that I did not fast at the time when I was not praying? 

Please note that I have now reached the age of thirty-one years; perhaps you will understand that this may cause me a great deal of hardship; to ward off that hardship, can I start over? Will Allah forgive me if I do that?

Is repentance from a particular sin acceptable while I am a victim of another?

I was just wondering if someone says he will drink and do zina (fornicate) and do haram (unlawful) stuff and then he will repent, will his repentance be accepted?

When traveling via airplane which direction should one pray? Assuming that due to conditions on the plane the proper direction cannot be ascertained.

What are the signs of Allah's love for His slave?

How do we as Muslims living in the west maintain an Islamic Education for our children. Primary and secondary education up to the age of 15/16 may be provided in Muslim schools (which are also very expensive), but as for Higher Education there is no such Islamic Institute. 

Even on the secondary school level on the agenda of Curriculum, we do not have books that deal with the branches of knowledge that are available in secular institutes, such as; Political science, Sociology, Psychology, Pedagogy. Please advise on how we should go about bringing about an Islamic Education system for our Youth in the west (bearing in mind that it is near impossible for us to migrate to Arab/Muslim countries because of the restrictions on immigration etc.).

I forgot that I did not have wudoo' and I prayed. After I finished my prayer, I remembered that. Do I have to repeat my prayer?

What should one who is informed about the correct direction of the qiblah during a prayer?

A very common problem seen in youth in western countries is that their parents allow them to indulge in some form of haram in the hope that will stop them from committing worse haram. An example of this is that parents will say that they allow their children to indulge in music in the hope that will stop them from going out with bad people or leaving their home all together. Parents are afraid that if they enforce the law of Allah in their homes, that their children will leave. 

What is Islam's position on this sort of compromise? Some parents also say that they only have the duty to tell their children something is haram, and then their children have to choose for themselves because they are already young adults (i.e. 13 -18 years old and unmarried, living at home). Don't the parents have to forbid haram by all means, or do they just say that is haram and then leave them be? To what extent do parents have to go to forbid their children from haram?

Parents also believe that once their children reach the age of puberty they are no longer responsible for their sins or actions, and so say they will have no sin if they advise their children something is haram and then leave them. Is this true? Or do parents always have the responsibility of forbidding their children from haram, and will they be responsible if they see their children doing haram and just leave them after advising them?

How can we teach our children the adhkaar (words of remembrance) to be recited every day and night?

How can we help a child to know his Lord?