THE ELEVENTH STEP: Angels and other spiritual beings
The traveler is now aware that the greatest and most important of all human perfections, indeed the very origin and foundation of all such perfections, is the love of God that arises from belief in God and knowledge of Him. With this in mind, the traveler wishes with all their strength and faculties to advance still further in strengthening their belief and in the development of their knowledge. And thus the traveler raises their head and, gazing at the heavens, addresses their own reasoning mind as follows:
“Because the most valuable thing in the universe is life and all things in the universe are subservient to life, and because the most valuable beings among all living beings are those which are endowed with spirit, and because the most valuable among beings endowed with spirit are those who are conscious, and because each century and each year the earth is emptied and refilled in order to increase without cessation the number of living beings due to their value—because of all this, one must undoubtedly conclude that these splendid and ornate heavens must also have living, conscious inhabitants that are peculiar to them. Experiences relating to seeing and speaking with the angels—such as the appearance of Archangel Gabriel, upon him be peace, in the form of a human being in the presence of Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, in full view of the Companions—have been transmitted and related from the most ancient times through reliable channels of transmission. Given that this is so, if only I could talk to the inhabitants of the heavens and learn their views on this matter. For their words concerning the Creator of the universe are of utmost importance.”
As the traveler is thinking thus, he suddenly hears a heavenly voice: “If you wish to meet us and hear our words, then know that we before all others have believed in the truths of belief that we conveyed to the Prophets, and first and foremost to Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, who brought the Qur’an of miraculous exposition.
“Furthermore, all of the pure spirits from among us who have appeared before human beings have, unanimously and without exception, borne witness to the necessary Existence and sacred Attributes of the Creator of the universe, and proclaimed this with one accord. The concord and mutual correspondence of these uncountable proclamations is a guide for you that is as bright as the sun.” As a result, the traveler’s light of belief grows more radiant and ascends from the earth to the heavens.
In a brief reference to the lesson the traveler has learned from the angels, it was said in The Eleventh Step of The First Station:
There is no deity but God, Whose Necessary Existence in His Unity is demonstrated clearly by the agreement of the angels who appear to human beings in human form and who speak to the spiritually distinguished ones among humankind with their mutually corresponding and conforming messages.
Said Nursi