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‘Abd al-Karim Jili – Kitab al-insan al-kamil [translated by Henry Corbin and Nancy Pearson]

The first category [of spirits] is the pre-eminent one; they are the perfect Ones, the great Initiates … who remain invisible to the creatures of this world, because they are hidden in the Mystery which is designated as the plane on which the merciful is enthroned.  They are not known, they cannot be described [Intelligences] ……

The second category consists of the intimates of suprasensory planes, the Spirits that inspire the hearts [Spirit helpers].  The spiritual Guide manifests by taking their form, in order that mortals be led by them to inner and outer perfection.  They are Spirits; they are, so to speak, pure apparitional forms, in that they have the faculty of producing a visual representation of themselves.  They travel, taking their departure from the visible world; they reach as far as the field of the mystery of being. Afterwards, they may pass from the hidden to the visible state.  Their breath is entirely a divine service.  They are the pillars of the Earth keeping watch for God over the tradition and precepts.

The third category are the Angels [Angels] of inspiration and impulses who, during the night visit the Initiates and converse with the Spirituals, they do not show themselves in the world of sensory perception; they are not known by ordinary men