Daily Frameworks for 16 December 2025

Fidál, 06 Masá’il (Questions), 182 B.E.

Quotes for Reflection

“We will now mention unto thee Trustworthiness and the station thereof in the estimation of God, thy Lord, the Lord of the Mighty Throne. One day of days We repaired unto Our Green Island. Upon Our arrival, We beheld its streams flowing, and its trees luxuriant, and the sunlight playing in their midst. Turning Our face to the right, We beheld what the pen is powerless to describe; nor can it set forth that which the eye of the Lord of Mankind witnessed in that most sanctified, that most sublime, that blest, and most exalted Spot. Turning, then, to the left We gazed on one of the Beauties of the Most Sublime Paradise, standing on a pillar of light, and calling aloud saying: ‘O inmates of earth and heaven! Behold ye My beauty, and My radiance, and My revelation, and My effulgence. By God, the True One! I am Trustworthiness and the revelation thereof, and the beauty thereof. I will recompense whosoever will cleave unto Me, and recognize My rank and station, and hold fast unto My hem. I am the most great ornament of the people of Bahá, and the vesture of glory unto all who are in the kingdom of creation. I am the supreme instrument for the prosperity of the world, and the horizon of assurance unto all beings.’ Thus have We sent down for thee that which will draw men nigh unto the Lord of creation. — Bahá’u’lláh ^{1 2}

Question for Consideration

What is the significance of the “Green Island” as referenced by Bahá’u’lláh?

Perplexity Pro Response ³

Bahá’u’lláh’s “Green Island” refers to the Ridván Garden near ‘Akká, and at the same time functions as a symbolic, spiritual landscape in which the virtue of Trustworthiness is personified and revealed. [1] [2]​

Historical setting

Several Bahá’í historical and scholarly sources identify the “Green Island” with the Ridván Garden (also called the Garden of Na‘mayn), a small island-garden by a canal east of ‘Akká that Bahá’u’lláh frequented during His later years. These sources note that Bahá’u’lláh Himself referred to this garden as “Our Verdant Isle” or “Green Island,” highlighting its flowing water, luxuriant trees, and sunlight, details that match the vision described in the Tablet on Trustworthiness. [1] [2] [3]​

Symbolic meaning

Within the quoted passage, the “Green Island” serves as a spiritual setting in which an exalted “Beauty” appears and declares, “I am Trustworthiness…”, presenting Trustworthiness as a heavenly reality that illumines and orders the world. Commentators explain that the garden’s greenness, flowing streams, and light symbolize the life-giving, beautifying, and protective power of this virtue, which Bahá’u’lláh calls “the supreme instrument for the prosperity of the world” and “the most great ornament of the people of Bahá.” [4] [5] [6]​

Function in the Tablet

By situating the vision in the “Green Island,” Bahá’u’lláh links a concrete place associated with His own exile and ministry to an inner, paradisiacal realm where divine qualities are revealed. The scene is meant to “draw men nigh unto the Lord of creation,” indicating that cleaving to Trustworthiness transforms the believer’s life into a verdant, illumined “island” of divine protection and assurance within the world. [1] [2] [5]​ [6]

​​Citations

1. The Ridvan Garden – Uplifting Words
2. The Blessed Beauty, Part IX: (1877 – 1892) – The Utterance Project
3. In the Ridván Garden – The Life of Bahá’u’lláh
4. Trustworthiness Compilation: Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi​ – Ocean of Lights
5. Trustworthiness: A Cardinal Bahá’í Virtue – The Bahá’í Faith
6. From the Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh – The Bahá’í Faith
7. The Green Island and the Angel of Trustworthiness – Beyond Foreignness
8. Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas – Bahá’í Reference Library
9. We will now mention unto thee Trustworthiness and the station thereof in the estimation of God – The Largest Bahá’í Facebook Group Ever
10. Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh: Ṭarázát (Ornaments) – Bahai.works
11. Baha’i Beliefs: Ultimate Reality And Divine Beings – Patheos
12. Date of Revelation: Tablet of Ishraqát – Bahá’í Library Online
13. Trustworthiness: Baha’i Feast Devotional Program – Uplifting Words
14. Chronology of the Bahá’í Faith – Bahá’í Library Online
15. Baha’i Sabbath – Baha’i Justice
16. Trustworthiness: A Cardinal Bahá’í Virtue. Compiled by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, Revised August 1990 – Bahá’í Reference Library
17. Trustworthiness – Shareable Bahá’í Resources
18. We will now mention unto thee Trustworthiness and the station thereof in the estimation of God – Daily Baha’i Readings (Facebook)
19. The Ridvan Garden outside of Akka – Reflections on the Bahai Writings
20. TABLETS OF BAHA’U’LLAH REVEALED AFTER THE KITAB-I-AQDAS – Bahá’í Library Online

Footnotes

1. Research Department of the Universal House of Justice. “Trustworthiness: A Cardinal Bahá’í Virtue.” Bahá’í Reference Library, Revised August 1990. https://www.bahai.org/r/689318495. ↩︎
2. Bahá’u’lláh. Tablets of Baháʾ’u’ʾlláh, Revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. Translated by Habib Taherzadeh. 1st ed. Haifa: Bahá’í World Centre, 1978, 37-38. https://www.bahai.org/r/726794830. ↩︎
3. Perplexity Pro. “The Significance of the Green Island.” Edited by Steve Bosserman. December 15, 2025. https://www.perplexity.ai/search/say-o-people-of-god-adorn-your-wv6H6gCeQRmfB19tbelA4Q#0 ↩︎