M6:3057 — روی موسی بارقی انگیخته / پیش رو او توبره آویخته

Translation: Musa (Moses) had adorned his face with a flashing radiance, And before his face, he had hung a toobra (a kind of veil). Meaning: This verse refers to the story of Moses's face becoming radiant after communion with God, necessitating a veil to protect people's sight from its intense glow.

Mowlana, in this verse, alludes to a lesser-known narrative found in commentaries and historical accounts. This story, which Abu al-Futuh Razi also relates in his Persian exegesis, must have reached Mowlana through various channels. After Moses returned from Mount Tur, having communed with God, his face became so intensely luminous that people could not bear to look upon it. Indeed, the accounts suggest that even his wife, Zipporah, suffered impaired vision from its sheer brilliance. The bāreqa (radiance) that Mowlana speaks of is precisely this dazzling flash and glow of Moses's countenance.

Consequently, Moses was compelled to hang a toobra before his face. Here, toobra does not signify a bag or sack, but rather a veil or woolen cloth, intended to shield his face so that people's eyes would not be harmed by its intense glow. To convey the sheer power of this light, Mowlana refers to a prevalent legend of his time: that an emerald can blind a snake. As he states: “The light of his face so seized the sight / As an emerald blinds the eyes of a deaf snake.” It is worth noting, however, that Abu Rayhan Biruni, that towering figure of science and empiricism, in his invaluable work Al-Jamāhir fī Maʿrifat al-Jawāhir, thoroughly debunked this belief after practical experimentation, deeming it mere superstition. Yet, for Mowlana, this legend served as a vivid symbol to express the profound impact of Moses's light.

But the more crucial point lies in the continuation of the story. Moses asks God for a covering for this powerful light. God's response is deeply contemplative: “He (God) said: make the toobra from your humble garment! / For that is the garb of a trustworthy gnostic.” The Almighty instructs Moses to fashion this veil from his own clothing. Why? Because that garment is the “garb of a trustworthy gnostic.” This implies that Moses himself is a trustworthy Gnostic, and his clothing has partaken of this inner light and piety. This garment is not merely a piece of cloth; rather, having been in contact with Moses’s luminous soul, it has acquired a “light of patience” (or resistance), and the “light of his soul has been woven into its warp and woof.” This illustrates that, in Mowlana’s view, even objects accompanying the mystic on their journey are influenced by their inner state and can become instruments for manifesting or managing divine affairs. This is not just an external covering, but one imbued with luminosity from Moses's own inner being, thus acquiring the property of a divine veil.

Key takeaways

• The manifestation of divine light is so overwhelming that a veil becomes necessary for its endurance.
• Mowlana utilizes common legends and folk tales of his era to elucidate profound spiritual concepts, even if scientifically inaccurate.
• The garment of a trustworthy Gnostic becomes imbued with their inner light, acquiring spiritual properties—a testament to the inner influencing the outer.
• This narrative symbolizes the necessity of cultivating capacity and readiness to receive divine manifestations.
• In Mowlana's view, even material elements can carry and reflect spiritual light and presence.