so far as the administration of His Dispensation is
concerned, more complete and more specific in its provisions, yet in the
matter of succession, it gave no written, no binding and conclusive
instructions to those whose mission was to propagate His Cause. For the
text of the Qur'an, the ordinances of which regarding prayer, fasting,
marriage, divorce, inheritance, pilgrimage, and the like, have after the
revolution of thirteen hundred years remained intact and operative, gives
no definite guidance regarding the Law of Succession, the source of all
the dissensions, the controversies, and schisms which have dismembered and
discredited Islam.

Not so with the Revelation of Baha'u'llah. Unlike the Dispensation of
Christ, unlike the Dispensation of Muhammad, unlike all the Dispensations
of the past, the apostles of Baha'u'llah in every land, wherever they
labor and toil, have before them in clear, in unequivocal and emphatic
language, all the laws, the regulations, the principles, the institutions,
the guidance, they require for the prosecution and consummation of their
task. Both in the administrative provisions of the Baha'i Dispensation,
and in the matter of succession, as embodied in the twin institutions of
the House of Justice and of the Guardianship, the followers of Baha'u'llah
can summon to their aid such irrefutable evidences of Divine Guidance that
none can resist, that none can belittle or ignore. Therein lies the
distinguishing feature of the Baha'i Revelation. Therein lies the strength
of the unity of the Faith, of the validity of a Revelation that claims not
to destroy or belittle previous Revelations, but to connect, unify, and
fulfill them. This is the reason why Baha'u'llah and 'Abdu'l-Baha have
both revealed and even insisted upon certain details in connection with
the Divine Economy which they have bequeathed to us, their followers. This
is why such an emphasis has been placed in their Will and Testament upon
the powers and prerogatives of the ministers of their Faith.

For nothing short of the explicit directions of their Book, and the
surprisingly emphatic language with which they have clothed the provisions
of their Will, could possibly safeguard the Faith for which they have both
so gloriously labored all their lives. Nothing short of this could protect
it from the heresies and calumnies with which denominations, peoples, and
governments have endeavored, and will, with increasing vigor, endeavor to