A nice quote of Ibn Sina
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Ibn sina, also known as Avicenna, the encyclopaedist, philosopher, physiologist, physician, mathematician, astronomer and poet said about the 'ritual' prayer
Prayer is that which enables the soul to realize its divinity. Through prayer human beings worship absolute truth, and seek an eternal reward. Prayer is the foundation-stone of religion; and religion is the means by which the soul is purified of all that pollutes it. Prayer is the worship of the first cause of all things, the supreme ruler of all the world, the source of all strength. Prayer is the adoration of the one whose being is necessary.
- Ibn Sina, ?Kitab al-Najat? From "366 Readings From Islam," translated by Robert Van der Weyer.
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"Perished are the speeches, vanished are the allusions, and nothing benefited us except for the prostrations we made in the middle of the night."
--Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, citing Imam al-Junayd who saw a deceased companion of his in a dream say this, may God have mercy on all of them.