I heard a hadith stating that prayer must be accompanied by pleasure and happiness for the individual; if it is not, then the gates of heaven are closed by that prayer

The questioner : Ayman Abd al-Mun'im from Egypt. We reviewed a question from him, and this question remains. Shaykh, may Allah preserve you, he says: I heard a hadith stating that prayer must be accompanied by pleasure and happiness for the individual; if it is not, then the gates of heaven are closed by that prayer. Is this correct?

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. This hadith is not authentic, but there is no doubt that a person whose prayer is a source of pleasure and delight for him has a great share of what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was upon, because he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So when a person enters into his prayer and believes that he is conversing with his Lord, and that his life in reality is what he spent in obedience to Allah, and that this is his true life, then there is no doubt that prayer will be the delight of his eye and the rest of his soul, and he will become accustomed to it, and when he concludes it, he will look forward to it again, and he will find thereafter light and happiness and abstention from indecency and evil, as Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said: .
As for the one who neglects it and wastes it, and it becomes heavy for him, and from the time he begins it until he finishes, his heart is thinking and turning right and left, then prayer will be difficult for him, and he will come out of it as one fleeing from a lion, and he will not feel that he has benefited from the time he was praying, which is his true life. Therefore, I say that a person should, when he stands for prayer, be aware of the greatness of the One before whom he stands, and believe fully that He Blessed and Exalted is He knows what his soul whispers, and strive with utmost effort to focus his heart on what he says and does in his prayer, and not let it wander right and left. If that happens to him, then here is the effective remedy that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prescribed for a man among his Companions who complained to him that when he entered into prayer, he was distracted, meaning he was thinking right and left. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him, when he found that, to spit to his left three times and seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan. The man said, "I did that, and Allah removed from me what I was feeling."
We ask Allah to help us all in His remembrance, His gratitude, and the excellence of His worship.

The questioner : O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you, Shaykh.