Rabe'a al- Adiwiyah, a great woman saint of Sufism, was seen running through the streets of her hometown, Basra, carrying a torch in one hand and a bucket of water in the other. When someone asked her what she was doing, she answered, 'I am going to take this bucket of water and pour it on the flames of hell, and then I am going to use this torch to burn down the gates of paradise so that people will not love God for want of heaven or fear of hell, but because He is God. John Green
About This Quote

This is one of the most beautiful stories about love and its power. The great woman saint of Sufism, Rabe'a al-Adiwiyah, is advising us to love God for all that God can give, not for anything else. She is saying that the only secret of happiness is to care for people in the way they are meant to be cared for. That is why she is carrying a bucket of water and a torch in her hands. She is saying that the only way to burn down hell or to prevent people from loving God because they are frightened of hell, is to show them that God does not want them to suffer.

Source: Looking For Alaska

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