O God! If I worship You for fear of Hell, burn me in Hell, and if I worship You in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise. But if I worship You for Your Own sake, grudge me not Your everlasting Beauty.” Rabia introduced the actual concept of Divine Love. She was the first to introduce the idea that God should be loved for Gods own sake, not out of fear—as earlier Sufis had done. She taught that repentance was a gift from God because no one could repent unless God had already accepted him and given him this gift of repentance. She taught that sinners must fear the punishment they deserved for their sins, but she also offered such sinners far more hope of Paradise than most other ascetics did. For herself, she held to a higher ideal, worshipping God neither from fear of Hell nor from hope of Paradise, for she saw such self-interest as unworthy of Gods servants; emotions such as fear and hope were like veils—i.e. hindrances to the vision of God Himself.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 10:58:54 +0000
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