Daily Frameworks for 27 December 2025

Jalál, 17 Masá’il (Questions), 182 B.E.

Quotes for Reflection

Cleave thou to the fear of God and to whatsoever hath been revealed in His Book: thus biddeth thee He Who is the Word of Truth and the Knower of things unseen. Say: trustworthiness is the sun of the heaven of My commandments, truthfulness is its moon, and praiseworthy attributes are its stars. Yet the people, for the most part, understand not. — Bahá’u’lláh ¹

Question for Consideration

Bahá’u’lláh observes that the majority of people don’t understand His statement above. Is it more that they do not know what it means or that they do not want to do what it says?

Perplexity Pro Response ²

Bahá’u’lláh’s words point to both a lack of understanding and a lack of willingness, but the deeper problem is that people do not want to live what these words imply, even when they roughly grasp their meaning. [1]​

What “understand not” points to

In the Bahá’í writings, “understanding” is not only intellectual; it means perceiving the spiritual weight and practical implications of a truth so that it reshapes one’s life. Many can repeat that trustworthiness and truthfulness are important, but do not “understand” them as the sun and moon of a God‑given moral universe—central, ordering principles around which everything else must orbit. [1] [2] [3]​

Knowing versus doing

Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá repeatedly describe a gap between professed belief and actual conduct, especially in relation to trustworthiness and truthfulness. The phrase “Yet the people, for the most part, understand not” thus includes those who: [1] [4] [5]​

• Intellectually know the words, but do not recognize their radical demands on their habits, loyalties, and self‑interest. [1] [3]​
• Sense those demands, but shrink from the sacrifice required to let trustworthiness and truthfulness govern their choices in family, work, and society. [1] [5]​

The spiritual root of the problem

Bahá’u’lláh links failure to live these virtues with following “lusts and corrupt inclinations,” which causes people to “err” and “dissipate their efforts.” This shows that the main obstacle is not mere ignorance of the words, but attachment to lower desires that makes the heart unreceptive to the depth and authority of His command. [1] [3]​

How the two are connected

When the will resists obedience, the mind tends to not truly understand, or to minimize, what the command entails; the lack of willingness and the lack of understanding reinforce each other. In this sense, “they understand not” covers both: they do not fully know what it means because they do not wish to be bound by what it means, and they do not wish to do what it says because they do not see, or will not see, its divine wisdom and necessity. [1] [3] [6] [7]

Follow Up Questions Proposed by Perplexity

• What does Bahá’u’lláh mean by trustworthiness in this passage?
• How do Bahá’í writers interpret ‘for the most part understand not?
• Are there historical examples of people failing to grasp this teaching?
• Does Bahá’u’lláh elsewhere explain why people resist His commands?
• How do Bahá’í teachers recommend cultivating truthfulness?

​​Citations

1. Trustworthiness: A Cardinal Bahá’í Virtue. Compiled by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, Revised August 1990 – Bahá’í Reference Library
2. Truthfulness – Bahá’í Quotes
3. Obedience – Bahá’í Quotes
4. Baha’i Quotes on Honesty and Trustworthiness – Uplifting Words
5. Trustworthiness – Bahá’í Quotes
6. My Thoughts on the Meaning of Obedience – Baha’i Blog
7. Obedience: Conscience and Dissent in the Bahá’í Faith – Bahá’í Library Online
8. Trustworthiness: Baha’i Feast Devotional Program – Bahá’í Quotes
9. 27 April 2017 – [To an individual] – Bahá’í Reference Library

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/456132196. ↩︎
2. Perplexity Pro. “Cleave to the Fear of God.” Edited by Steve Bosserman. December 26, 2025. https://www.perplexity.ai/search/cleave-thou-to-the-fear-of-god-dhxm7C7QSSipKus3A4bReQ#0 ↩︎