Question 103: The Al-Mighty said: {Say thou: were there in the earth angels walking about contentedly, We would surely have sent down unto them from the heaven an angel as an apostle.} [The Holy Qur’an: Surat Al-Isra’ (17): 95], what is the reason for the lack of contentment of the Angels in spreading the Message?
Answer: The Angels (pbut) are not as you presume or understand from this verse that they are not content with spreading the Message to the contrary they are not content with visiting every location on earth and every human being, as the Angels are holy and purified and do not get close to any location that is not holy and pure or to any soul that is not holy and purified, and if they are compelled to visit a location that is not pure or to a soul that is not purified then they will not be content with it nor satisfied, and because of this the righteous visions of the Angels for the disbelievers and hypocrites are reduced, meaning it becomes almost absent and the Angels do not visit a location that is not pure among an unless it was to bring down a punishment.
So the Angels visit from the (evil) conqueror to the purified and holy location and to the holy and purified soul such as the soul of the Prophets and Messengers and Imams (pbut).
And to clarify the picture further about the Angels not content with walking upon the earth – and more generally – I will give this example: Would you be content when walking on a land that is raised high (away) from impurity and going away a distance from mankind, for example? Or would you be content when visiting an impure sewage, we seek refuge with Allah and you? So this is the earth’s picture as depicted by the Angels, so how can they walk contentedly? Although, there are locations in it that are specifically for the devotion to Allah and the obedience to Allah and the worship to Allah within it, and this is the pure locations that the Angels visit, and inside the Earth are holy and pure souls that the Angels visit and the Angels are content with these holy souls and with these pure locations but not to any other location on the Earth that the children of Adam have filled with following lusts and disobedience to Allah the Glorified and Al-mighty.
Al-Mutashebihat (Allegories), Imam Ahmed Alhasan (a.s)