10.2. Angels:

The angels are beings of one dimension (1-D) and they are made of light (Insha al-Dawa ir: 27). Angels are the first creatures: the Pen himself is an angel, and he is the first creature and everything else is 'written' by him in the Soul (the Protected Tablet), which is two dimensional as we shall see further below: so their relationship is just like a normal pen and writing-board, in that they are one- and two-dimensional respectively. Angels occur by the repeated manifestations of the Real (at least two subsequent manifestations); just as the line is composed of at least two points [III.276.3]. Ibn Arabi says:

The reality of the angel does not accept deviation, because he is the origin of the straight line connecting the two nines (of the divine Source and its human receptacles).[132] For bending (from that straight connection) is deviation, and he (the angel) does not have any bending, but he goes back and forth between the straight (creative) motion and the reverse motion (returning from the creature to God). So he is precisely the subtle thread (raqiqa: connecting the Source and the creatures) itself.

[I.54.21]

On the other hand, there is strong evidence in Ibn Arabi's texts that some angels indeed function as, among other things, forces of Nature: 'They are called angels (mala ika) because they are links, conductors that link the godly rules and divine effects by material worlds because "al-malak" (the angel) in (Arabic) language means the "force" and the "intensity".' (Insha al-Dawa ir: 27)

And he also says: 'There is no place in heaven or earth but that there is an angel in it. And the Real continues to create angels from the (creative divine) Breaths of the worlds, as long as they are still breathing.' [I.123.2]

It is also known in physics that there are four fundamental forces in nature, which are: the force of gravity, the electromagnetic force, the weak nuclear force, and the strong nuclear force. Nature is built upon these four forces. Those four forces can be conceived as manifestations of the four prime Archangels Malik, Jibra il (Gabriel), Mikha il (Michael) and Israfil (Seraphiel) , because Ibn Arabi affirms that those four angels are the ones who bear the Throne (al- arsh). Although it is mentioned in Qur an that eight shall, in that Day (of resurrection), bear above them the Throne of thy Lord (69:17), he asserts that when this verse was recited before Muhammed, he said 'and they are today (in this world) four' [I.148.2, III.184.28, ad also: Uqlat al-Mustawfiz: 43-4], 'and tomorrow (in the Hereafter) they are going to be eight' [I.149.29]. Ibn Arabi also explains that al- arsh (usually translated as 'the throne') in the Arabic tongue refers to 'the Kingdom' in addition to 'the Throne' [I.147.33], so if this verse refers to the divine Kingdom, then its bearers or holders are those who are in charge of its affairs, and these are like the four supports (awtad) who hold up the house. For this reason we find that Ibn Arabi also affirms that the four awtad (spiritual Pillars) by whom Allah sustains the earth get their power from the spirituality of these four angels [I.160.25, II.7.1], though he mentions here Azra il (the angel of death) instead of Malik (the master of Gehenna). In the Hereafter, he explains elsewhere, the three prophets Adam, Muhammed and Ibrahim (Abraham) in addition to angel Ridwan (the Warehouser of Paradise) shall also contribute, so those eight will be the holders/bearers of the Throne/Kingdom in the Hereafter [I.148.11]. We shall see further below that this helps explain why the Hereafter could be considered as four-dimensional (4-D).

Here Ibn Arabi also shows that the Throne is the Kingdom, and that it is confined in four things: body, spirit, food, and state. So those eight sustainers of the Throne are assigned the various duties as follows: 'Adam and Seraphiel for forms (for bodies), Gabriel and Muhammed for spirits, Michael and Abraham for subsistence, and Malik and Ridwan are for threat and promise (i.e., the states in Gehenna or Paradise).' [I.148.3]

Therefore, if we want to compare those four angels who hold up the divine Kingdom and the four elementary forces which operate in Nature, we can clearly see, for example, a correspondence between gravity and Seraphiel, since both operate upon the forms, the bodies. We can also see clear relations between the electromagnetic force and Michael, because both are responsible for subsistence and food, when remember that all the food that we eat is in the end produced by light and heat which are electromagnetic waves (forces) emitted by the sun. It is, however, not easy to establish the relation between Gabriel and Malik on the one hand and the weak and strong nuclear forces on the other hand, but we can mention that Gehenna is said in the Qur an to be 'fuelled by stones' (2:24, 66:6), and this could mean the nuclear energy that is available inside the atoms for which those two nuclear forces are responsible.