"O God! If I worship You for fear of Hell, burn me in Hell"

“The soul comes from God and it can be united with Him if it is purified through the process of mortification.”

“Love, for Rabia, is the basis of spiritual perfection at all the stages on the journey to God. She teaches to love God for the sake of God.”

“I want to put out the fires of Hell, and burn down the rewards of Paradise. They block the way to Allah. I do not want to worship from fear of punishment or for the promise of reward, but simply for the love of Allah.”

“Seclusion is the soul's ideal preparation for reaching God. It is in the state of solitude that the soul contemplates on the attributes of God.”

“I so detached my heart from the world and cut short my hopes that for thirty years now I have performed each prayer as though it were my last and I were praying the prayer of farewell.”

“I have not served God for fear of Hell, for I should be like a wretched hireling, If I did it for fear: nor for love of Paradise, for I should be a bad servant if I served for the sake of what was given, but I have served Him only for the love of Him and out of desire for Him.”