Shaykh Ahmad ibn Ajiba al-Maliki, May Allah have Mercy upon him, relates,
”The contemplative aspect of the Salat is highlighted by the fact that it is in the prayer that the believer meets his Lord, just as the Prophet, Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him, met Him in his Night Journey [al-Isra wal Miraj].
He said: The Prayer is the Ascension of the believer… The idea of being face-to-face with Allah appears in numerous Hadiths, as does the idea of conversation [Munajah] between the servant and his Lord…. When the servant begins to accomplish prayer, Allah lifts the veil that is between the man is face to face with him [Wajhahu bi-Wajhihi], and a herald then cries: If the one who converses [al-Munaaji] in this prayer knew with Whom he converses [man Yunaji], he would be annihilated….There is no doubt that the presence of prayer is the most supreme of all presences, because it is the moment of intimate conversation with Allah and the mine of pure relationship in which the flashes of Divine Light shine and His secrets are revealed.”
{Shaykh Ahmad ibn Ajiba’s Tafsir Fatiha al-Kabir, Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyya, 2004, pg. 244}