M6:3078 — ز آهنین دیوارها نافذ شدی / توبره با نور حق چه فن زدی

Translation: You would pierce through walls of iron (O light), What art did you play, O veil, with the light of Truth? Meaning: This verse questions the veil Moses made to cover his divinely radiant face. Rumi asks how this veil managed to contain and temper the immense, penetrating light of Truth, which could pass through even the toughest barriers, making it bearable for human eyes.

This sixth verse of the Masnavi is one of those pure gems that, embedded within a Quranic narrative, conveys a universal wisdom. Here, Rumi alludes to the story of Moses's return from Mount Sinai (Tur); that moment when the prophet's face became so radiant from divine manifestations that no eye could bear to look upon it. Even Safura, Moses's wife, was blinded by this unveiled light. Thus, God commanded Moses to fashion a veil from 'his own garment' to cover his face.

With a rhetorical, questioning tone, Rumi states: “You would pierce through walls of iron” – meaning, O light of Truth, you are so powerful that you penetrate even iron walls, let alone other barriers. Then, “What art did you play, O veil, with the light of Truth?” – But what special skill or artistry did this 'toobareh' (veil/cover) employ to contain such an untameable light and temper it so as not to harm others?

The answer lies not in a mere trick, but in the principle of 'mujanasat,' or congenial nature. I have repeatedly emphasized that the light of Truth can only be held by a vessel that is of the same nature and 'pre-familiar' (آموزن) with that light. Rumi offers the example of 'sōkhteh' (tinder or wick): fire only catches on a wick that has a prior affinity with fire; one cannot apply fire to a stone or water and expect it to ignite. Moses's veil was made from 'his own clothes'—garments that had grown intimate with his body, his soul, and his mystical ecstasies, thereby becoming 'acquainted' with the light of Truth. Had this veil been made of anything other than Moses's own raiment, even a 'double-layered mountain' would have been torn apart by that unveiled light. This resonates with the Quranic verse regarding the mountain and the Quran: “Had We sent down this Qur'an upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled and split asunder from the fear of God.”

So, the issue is that divine manifestations always require a fitting and congenial vessel to be received and perceived. God's light, unmediated and raw, is unbearable for the beings of the world. This principle of 'mujanasat' applies not only to prophets and saints but also permeates the entire cosmos and the acquisition of knowledge itself. That is to say, everything that manifests from the Truth appears in a form suitable for the receiving vessel. This is the secret of Moses's 'toobareh'; not an ordinary contrivance, but a veil made of the same essence as the light itself, or at least of a nature that has become intimate with it.

Key takeaways

• The Light of Truth is so penetrating that it can pass through even iron walls.
• The veil's ability to contain divine light was not due to an ordinary 'trick' but to its 'congeniality' and affinity with that light.
• Divine manifestations, to be comprehensible and receivable, always require a congenial and appropriate medium.
• Just as a wick only ignites with fire of its own kind, the vessel for receiving divine light must have a prior affinity with it.
• Ordinary eyes, and even Safura, could not bear the unmediated light; the veil was necessary for the protection of creation.