Does this veil bring forgetfulness?
Is this veil a divine test?
Why did the veil have to be placed at all?
Could a created being have progressed and continued moving forward at the height of knowledge?
Or is the height of knowledge the end, with no possibility of going further? Is that why God placed a veil, so that the created being would be taken back a little and have to acquire knowledge anew?
In that case—God forbid, we seek refuge in God—this movement would be like a game!!!!!!
It would be like throwing someone down from the top of a wall, then hiding the ladder, and saying: first find the means (the ladder: the Prophet and the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them); then, if you can climb back up the wall using the ladder, you win (and attain Paradise or divine pleasure).
But what is the point of that, when I was already on top of the wall???????????
Does the Veil Bring Forgetfulness and Serve as a Divine Test?
The essence and first answer at a glance (60-word summary)
The veil is a covering that obscures knowledge and can lead to forgetfulness. Yet when the human will is aligned with the divine will, the human essence can overcome every veil. The veil is both a test and a contest, and a means of attaining knowledge beyond ordinary knowing. In encountering the veil, human growth is multiplied; ignorance and darkness become steps toward the greater reach of divine power.
Answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat)
Teacher and researcher in the intellectual tradition of wisdom and the Ahl al-Bayt | Soroush Bamdadān Cultural CenterThe veil is a covering over knowledge and brings forgetfulness. Yet when the human will is aligned with the Divine Will, the human essence triumphs over every veil.
The veil encompasses both trial and contest. It is a means of attaining knowledge beyond knowledge.
Yes, the created being could have advanced within the very heart of knowledge; this possibility has not been taken away. Growth is doubled in both directions: within knowledge itself and in encountering the veil.
Knowledge is one of the first steps in growth, not its entirety.
Futility and play belong to those in need. The highest form of creation is the bringing forth of darkness from the heart of light—a kind of expansion of existence, and in a sense, a movement beyond existence: extending the boundary from the realm of knowledge into what lies beyond it. It is an expansion of the realm of Divine Majesty for wise purposes.
Ignorance and darkness are like a staircase by which one rises beyond knowledge. They may appear to impose limits, but in reality they widen and extend the domain of Divine Power. In this arena of divine manifestations, the created being is always the victor.
The creation of the veil takes place within the course of creation, not beneath it. The ladder of creation leads upward, not downward; even what lies below is part of creation’s unfolding. The veil is necessary for growth and expansion.
The creation of the veil does not mean that knowledge is erased. It is not as though the ladder has been taken away and the servant is left to fall. Rather, while standing on the ladder of knowledge, a covering is placed before the eyes so that new faculties may awaken within the soul.
How different beings enter the contest of knowledge is itself a sublime matter!