Do Angels Have Sexes and Evil-Commanding Souls?
Angels have no sexes and they have no evil-commanding souls
Angels do not sin or disobey, for they do not have an evil-commanding soul that must be resisted. They have fixed stations, and so are neither promoted nor abased. They are also free of such negative qualities as envy, rancor, and enmity, and from all lusts and animal appetites found in human beings and jinn. They have no gender, do not eat or drink, and do not feel hunger, thirst, or tiredness. Although they receive no wages for their worship, they derive special pleasure from carrying out God’s commands, delight in being near to Him, and receive some sort of spiritual pleasure from their worship. Praise, worship, recitation of God’s Names, and glorification of Him are their nourishment, as are light and sweet fragrances.
On the other hand, we struggle with our evil-commanding soul and Satan. While angels invite us to true guidance, inspire us with belief and good conduct and virtue, and call us to resist the temptations of Satan and our evil-commanding self, Satan and our evil-commanding self try to seduce us. A person’s life is the history of his or her continuous struggle between angelic inspiration and satanic temptation. This is why we can be elevated to the highest rank or abased to the lowest rank. Also, this is why the elect of humanity, the Prophets and great saints, are higher in rank than the greatest angels, and why ordinary believers are higher than common angels. Also, although angels have more knowledge of God and His Names and Attributes than we do, we are more comprehensive mirrors of God’s Names and Attributes by virtue of our developed human senses, or ability to reflect, and our complex nature.
Angels carry out whatever God commands them
The Majestic Maker of this huge palace of creation employs four kinds or classes of laborers: angels and other spirit beings; inanimate things and vegetable creations, which are quite important servants of God working without wages; animals, which serve unconsciously in return for a small wage of food and pleasure; and humanity, which works in awareness of the Majestic Creator’s purposes. Men and women learn from everything, and supervise lower-ranking servants below in return for wages in the form of rewards here and in the Hereafter.
The first class consists of angels. These beings are never promoted for what they do, for each has a fixed, determined rank and receives a particular pleasure from the work itself, as well as a radiance from worship. That is, their reward is found in their service. Just as we are nourished by and derive pleasure from air and water, light and food, angels are nourished by and receive pleasure from the lights of remembrance and glorification, worship and knowledge, and love of God. Since they are created of light, light sustains them. Even fragrant scents, which are close to light, are a sort of enjoyable nourishment for them. Indeed, pure spirits take pleasure in sweet scents.
From their jobs performed at the command of the One Whom they worship, their actions for His sake, their service rendered in His Name, their supervision through His view, their honor gained through connection with Him, their “refreshment” found in studying His Kingdom’s material and immaterial dimensions, and their satisfaction in observing His Grace and Majesty’s manifestations, angels receive such elevated bliss that we cannot even begin to comprehend it. In addition, only they can perceive this bliss.
This article has been adapted from Risale- i Nur Collection.