Spiritual Disease and Its Cure by Imam Shams-ud-Deen Muhammad bin Abi Bakr bin Qayyim AlJ awziyyah

A sinner's heart is always in state of anxiety and terror, because obedience to Allah ~ represents the great fortress of Allah, so whoever enters it is safe from the Punishment of this world and the Hereafter; but whoever leaves it would be surrounded by all aspects of fear and worry. A sinner's heart is always restless; he/she feels nervous about any noise he/she hears, and believes that any misfortune is intended for him/her. But one who fears Allah would be spared all these worries. Sins implant a sense of isolation in the heart. A sinner feels secluded from his/her Lord and from other people. As he/she commits more sins, his/her isolation increases, and so he/she would endure the bitterness of life, as a worried lonely person. A sinner feels delighted when committing a sin, but this is just a pleasure of the moment, as his/her heart is filled with anxiety afterwards. The secret in this matter is that obedience to Allah ~ brings the devout person closer to Him ~. and closer to other people that he/she loves, even if they are far away from him/her. Disobedience to Allah ~ attracts the feeling of remoteness from Allah ~. and the most severe form is that of polytheism, associating partners with Allah.