-- provisional translation by Adib Ma'sumian and Peyman Sazedj
O thou who hast turned thy face towards the court of eternity, and art even as a brand afire with the flames of the Burning Bush! Concerning thy question about the term “angels” and the meaning thereof in Divine Scripture—know, verily, that by “angels,” various meanings are intended.
In relation to creation, the term “angels” applieth to those who have sanctified the hem of their garments from corrupt desires, and who mirror forth every attribute of Him Who is the Lord of the heavens. The term “angel” is a reference to their spiritual condition and a testimony to their inner being and reality. These are they whom God hath mentioned in His verses and remembered by various names. I will now recount unto thee some of these names and expound their meanings, that thou mayest understand what the Adored One hath intended through His words. Among them is “the bearers of the throne.” [1] Know thou that by “throne” is meant the heart of man, even as He Who is the Nightingale of Eternity and the Celestial Dove hath warbled: “The heart of the believer is the throne of the All-Merciful,” [2] and the Tongue of Grandeur hath, in the Hidden Words, proclaimed: “Thy heart is My home; sanctify it for My descent. Thy spirit is My place of revelation; cleanse it for My manifestation.” [3] For the heart is the recipient of the effulgences of divine Beauty, and the seat upon which the love of God, the Lord of the beginning and the end, hath established its sovereignty.
In relation to God, the term “angels” referreth to the Prophets of God and His Messengers, even as He hath said in the Qurʼán: “Praise be to God, Fashioner of the heavens and the earth, Who sendeth forth the angels as His Messengers with two, or three, or four pairs of wings…” [4] That which the All-Glorious God hath intended by “wings” in this verse are the modes of revelation and the kinds of proofs wherewith He hath sent His Messengers. These “wings” He hath made the means by which men may attain to the Wellspring of divine guidance, and all creation be led aright to the paradise of love and affection. For this, above all else, will conduce to the advancement of the world, and serve as the most potent of wings whereby the pure in heart may soar unto the Paradise of Oneness and the sacred abode of Divine Unity. Thus hath it been referred to as “wings” in the Scriptures of God.
