Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
There is no doubt that love of Allah, glorifying Him, and venerating Him are among the greatest and noblest motivations for worship. Allah, Glorified and Exalted, deserves to be worshipped for His own sake, because of the perfection of His Names and Attributes and the greatness of His Majesty. Allah says:
“We did not send any messenger before you except that We revealed to him: ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Me, so worship Me.’” [Al-Anbiya’: 25]
And Allah says:
“Indeed, I am Allah. There is no deity worthy of worship except Me, so worship Me.” [Ta-Ha: 14]
Love of Allah is not limited to loving His blessings. Rather, the most complete form of love is for a servant to love Him because of the perfection, majesty, and goodness that He deserves.
However, there is no contradiction between worshipping Allah out of love for Him and hoping for Paradise and fearing Hell. Paradise is not merely food, drink, companions, and physical pleasures; rather, it is the abode of Allah’s pleasure and nearness to Him. The greatest bliss of its inhabitants is to look upon His Noble Face. Allah says:
“And the pleasure of Allah is greater.” [At-Tawbah: 72]
Whoever loves Allah loves to meet Him and hopes for His pleasure and nearness. Therefore, he desires Paradise and strives for it, just as he fears Hell and what it contains of punishment, distance from Allah, and His displeasure.
For this reason, the believer combines love, hope, and fear, and does not regard any of them as contradicting the others. Love of Allah motivates him to obey Him; hope for Paradise motivates him to seek His pleasure and honor; and fear of Hell motivates him to avoid disobedience.
Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on them, explained that Paradise encompasses every form of bliss, and that its greatest bliss is Allah’s pleasure and looking upon His Face. Likewise, among the greatest punishments of Hell is what its inhabitants experience of being veiled from Allah, His displeasure, and distance from Him.
Therefore, leaving sin out of shame before Allah, love for Him, and reverence for His Majesty is good. However, it is not correct to think that seeking Paradise and fearing Hell contradict the perfection of love. Rather, all of these are legitimate motivations that can coexist in the heart of the believer. The most complete form of worship is to worship Allah out of love for Him, in hope of His reward, and in fear of His punishment.
And Allah knows best.