SHAFAQNA – It is narrated from Imam Ali (AS) who said: O’ my God, I have not worshipped You (God) because of Your fire (hellfire) or for the sake of entering Your heaven; rather I find You to be worthy of being worshipped, and that is why I worship You [1]. In another narration, the great Islamic Scholar Abu Ali Seena (Avicenna) wrote: The worship of the one who does not know God (a non-Arif person) is like a deal which he/she carries out a deed to receive its reward in the hereafter. And the worship of the one who knows God (a Gnostic/an Arif) is like a self-discipline act and exercise with all God given mental and physical strength and power. Arif does not worship for the sake of reward or wages [2].
[1] Beharul Anwaar, Vol. 41, Page 14.
[2] Isharaat, Vol. 3, Page 370.