It is referred back. The first angel is entrusted with the nafs (the lower self), the second with the ruh (the spirit), and the third is tasked with the Mīzān (the Balance). Their period of managing affairs in the cosmos is fifteen thousand years. In front of them, there are seven angels who serve, each being mature individuals between the ages of thirty and fifty, possessing complete strength, sound intellects, and refined manners. In the matter of division, degree, and equality, they are subject to the rule of the previous servants. When their secrets become known and the states hidden from people are revealed, they descend into the world of becoming to manifest the effects entrusted to them in this era.
Thus, Allah has made the world of lights and the world of secrets perfectly equal in a subtle manner. The sorrow of longing is soothed, the fire of yearning is extinguished. Changes occur in the qalb (the heart), maʿrifa (gnosis, experiential knowledge of God) diminishes, descents cease, and the maqāms (spiritual stations) that are imagined become veiled. The path to the sciences of illness and healing is cut off, and the secrets of good and evil disappear. (Letāʾif, 120)
The human being is addressed in three aspects: ruh (the spirit), nafs (the lower self), and body. In each of these names, there are four things. For this reason, it is a city with four sides. In every name, there are seven things that respond to the shayṭān (Satan).
In every name, there are also seven obstacles for the angel. (These can be explained as follows:) The ruh has two angels and two shayṭāns; the body also has two angels and two shayṭāns. The nafs has one angel and one shayṭān. A sixth angel is between the ruh and the nafs; opposite it is a stubborn shayṭān. A seventh angel is between the nafs and the body, and opposite it is (another) stubborn shayṭān. (Letāʾif, 128)
The malāʾika (angels), in terms of meaning, are subordinate to Prophet Ādam. For this reason, the duration...