It is not a matter of courtesy; it is a fact.

It is not a matter of courtesy; it is a fact.” With particular humbleness, the sheikh answered saying, ‘Your aunt is like you,’ meaning by this axiom that ‘I am just like you.’ Anyway, after some lengthy insistence, the sheikh said, ‘The feeling of pleasure during the prayer requires two types of introductions. The first type is the introductions beyond the sphere of prayer. The second type is the introductions within the framework of the prayers.

The matters which we should uphold before the prayer, that is, outside its sphere, is that one does not commit sins, nor should he pollute the heart with acts of disobedience to the Almighty. Disobedience taints the purity of the soul and puts out the light of the heart. As regarding the matters which must be observed in the prayer, they are: One must surround himself with an iron barrier so he fears none save Allah.

In other words, he has to shift his thinking from anything other than Allah, and his concern is about nothing except Allah. If his…