‘Seventy thousand veils’ means the degrees of reflections of divine Names and the layers of the world of creation. Veil means place of vision as well as obstruction against the vision; the veils in cinema is the example of the first, while the veils in our house is that of the latter. The word ‘veil’ in the question is used in the first meaning. Each creature is a veil; in it is read the Name of God Al-Khaliq-The Creator. Lives are each a veil; they show the Name of Al-Muhyee- the Giver of Life. Divine Names and qualities have endless degrees of reflection. Each of these has a veil.

Let’s briefly examine the Name Al-Hakeem-The Wise; i.e. the One who puts in everything innumerable purposes, meanings and benefits. As we are too far from watching the entire world of creatures, at least let us look at our being, which is a small example of this Universe. From our hair to toes, from the system of nerves to that of blood, our body teems with purposes and benefits. Our eyes, ear, tooth, complexion, inner organs are each a field of specialization. For each of them, many a research was made and many a book was written.

The entire knowledge put forth in these books is a concise explanation of the reflections of the name ‘the Wise’ in the human body. When we add to this our mind, memory, and emotions, we understand that we are the best mirror to the reflections of the name the Wise with our material and spiritual being. We become dazzled with the divine art and wisdom seeing that even in just one person the name the Wise has such a lot of degrees of reflection. And we understand that: “God Almighty is behind seventy thousands of veils.”

We try to take our look over the other units and members of the realm of creation, and send our imagination to heavens and beyond. We reach the angels, the highest heaven, and see that the name the Wise reflects upon each of these creatures in different ways and at different degrees and again come to the same truth: “God Almighty is behind seventy thousand veils.”

In the Risale-i Nur Collection, in the Letter of Miraj- the Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) ascent to heaven, it is stated that ‘seventy thousand veils’ is “the place of Names of God and reflections of names and deeds, and degrees of creatures.” In another subject, it is stated: “If someone wants to enter the great Presence of God without veils, then it would be necessary to pass dark and light seventy thousand veils, i.e. material and worldly, and pertaining to the names of God.”

Dark veils described as material and worldly are the material world we witness; these were defined as degrees of creatures in the previous expression. The light veils are described as pertaining to the Names of God. These veils are the reflections of divine names and qualities at different degrees and again in the previous expression were defined as ‘place of names’ and ‘reflection of names and deeds’.

We can read the name of God, Ever Provider, from a very small veil in the foods we spread over table. At that that time, a couple of people eat a couple of foods. If we imagine hundreds of thousands of people on their tables in our city, it will be possible for us to watch the name of Ever Provider from a wider veil.

When we expand the circle to billions, and add to the world of human beings that of the animals; and when we expand the time we are in, and think about the past ages and direct our look to the next generations; we will be regarding the reflections of this divine name from an ever-wider perspective with each circle.

All the names like Provider have many a reflection from the smallest to the widest circle.

With the miracle of Miraj, all these reflections are watched, all the actions of divine names and deeds are witnessed and after all of the layers of creation were left well behind; the vision of God, the sole Possessor, Creator, and Ruler of this world of property, is attained. This highest miracle of the greatest Prophet (PBUH) gives us the clearest lesson that “God Almighty is behind seventy thousand veils.”

Just like this Book of Universe, the Qur’an is also full of meanings upon meanings, and secrets upon secrets and wisdom upon wisdom. Without watching the veil before, the next will not come. There are innumerable veils before the humanity in order to face the quality of Speech (of God).

When thought that the companions of Muhammad (PBUH), the mujtahids (performers of ijtihad that is deriving judgments from the Qur’an and Hadiths), all people of knowledge and closeness to God, and finally all the believers are instructed by the same Qur’an, it will be clearly seen that between this divine Speech and us there are seventy thousand veils. All flowers turn to the same sun, but they each benefit from it in accordance with their capacities. All trees in a garden are planted on the same soil and watered with the same water, but each presents us different fruits.

The Book of Universe and the Holy Qur’an… There are seventy thousand veils in both of them. The more Mankind progresses on the field of heart, soul and mind, the more different reflections he will witness and the further he will progress on the way to know his Sustainer.

The obstructions in the self must be overcome in order to go beyond these veils.
The more we conquer our laziness the more we progress on the way of perseverance.
The more we overcome our ignorance, the more we develop in knowledge.
And the more we avoid unawareness, the nearer we get to peace.

That God is behind seventy thousand veils gives us this lesson:
The weakness, defects, ignorance of humankind, in short all his lacking qualities are seventy thousand veils.