Angels never commit sins and show disobedience and since they have no evil-commanding souls to resist obedience to God they have fixed stations; they are not promoted to higher ranks nor reduced to lower ones. They are also free of negative moral qualities like envy rancor and enmity and from lusts and animal appetites which are to be found in mankind and jinn.

Angels have no sexes; they do not eat and drink nor do they feel hunger thirst and tiredness. Although they have no wages in return for their worship they derive special pleasure in carrying out God’s commands and feel delight in being near to Him. They are not promoted but they receive some sort of spiritual pleasure from their worship. Praise worship recitation of God’s Names and glorification are their nourishment; they are also nourished with light and sweet fragrance.

Since angels do not have evil-commanding souls to struggle with they are not promoted to higher ranks but human beings are bound by creation to fight with their evil-commanding selves and Satan. While angels appointed to invite them to true guidance always inspire in them belief good conduct and virtues and call them to resist the temptations of Satan and their evil-commanding selves. Satan and their evil-commanding selves try to seduce them. It can be said that the life of a man is the history of his continuous struggle to make choices between the inspirations of angels through his spirit and the temptations of his evil-commanding self and Satan. That is why a human being can be elevated to the highest of the high or reduced to the lowest of the low. Also that is why the elect of mankind— the Prophets and greatest saints—are higher in rank than the greatest of angels and ordinary believers than the commonalty of angels. Also although angels are more advanced than human beings in knowledge of God and His Names and Attributes human beings by virtue of having developed senses and abilities like reflection and the complexity of their nature excel angels in being more comprehensive mirrors to God’s Names and attributes.