(Rābiʿa said:) I am going to the sky to burn paradise with fire, and to extinguish hell with water. Thus, neither of them will remain, and the true purpose will become manifest: that the servants may look to Allah without regard for hope (rajāʾ) or fear (khawf), and worship Allah without expectation of reward or fear of punishment. The reason I think this way regarding cennet-i efʿāl is this: Will people worship and obey Him without hope for paradise or fear of hell?
(Rābiʿa used to supplicate:) O God! If I worship You out of fear of hell, burn me in hell. If I worship You out of desire for paradise, make paradise forbidden to me. I worship You only for Your sake. Do not deprive me of beholding Your beauty!
The ʿārif bi-Llāh (the one who knows Allah) sees paradise as a reward, but for the ʿārif, paradise is a burden.
Paradise is the greatest ḥijāb (veil). For the people of paradise find tranquility in paradise. Whoever finds tranquility in paradise finds tranquility in something other than Him. For this reason, they are veiled.
The mewṭin-i ḥāmis (fifth abode or station) is paradise. It is between the hollow of the sphere of the firmament and the hump of the sphere of the fixed stars. Hell... extends from the base of the sphere of the fixed stars to the center. For it is impossible, in terms of form, for the seven heavens and the elements, after separation and judgment, to reach hell. (Asfār, 59)