.

The Document establishing that Order, the Charter of a future world
civilization, which may be regarded in some of its features as
supplementary to no less weighty a Book than the Kitab-i-Aqdas; signed and
sealed by 'Abdu'l-Baha; entirely written with His own hand; its first
section composed during one of the darkest periods of His incarceration in
the prison-fortress of Akka, proclaims, categorically and unequivocally,
the fundamental beliefs of the followers of the Faith of Baha'u'llah;
reveals, in unmistakable language, the twofold character of the Mission of
the Bab; discloses the full station of the Author of the Baha'i
Revelation; asserts that "all others are servants unto Him and do His
bidding"; stresses the importance of the Kitab-i-Aqdas; establishes the
institution of the Guardianship as a hereditary office and outlines its
essential functions; provides the measures for the election of the
International House of Justice, defines its scope and sets forth its
relationship to that Institution; prescribes the obligations, and
emphasizes the responsibilities, of the Hands of the Cause of God; and
extolls the virtues of the indestructible Covenant established by
Baha'u'llah. That Document, furthermore, lauds the courage and constancy
of the supporters of Baha'u'llah's Covenant; expatiates on the sufferings
endured by its appointed Center; recalls the infamous conduct of Mirza
Yahya and his failure to heed the warnings of the Bab; exposes, in a
series of indictments, the perfidy and rebellion of Mirza Muhammad-'Ali,
and the complicity of his son _Sh_u'a'u'llah and of his brother Mirza
Badi'u'llah; reaffirms their excommunication, and predicts the frustration
of all their hopes; summons the Afnan (the Bab's kindred), the Hands of
the Cause and the entire company of the followers of Baha'u'llah to arise
unitedly to propagate His Faith, to disperse far and wide, to labor
tirelessly and to follow the heroic example of the Apostles of Jesus
Christ; warns them against the dangers of association with the
Covenant-breakers, and bids them shield the Cause from the assaults of the
insincere and the hypocrite; and counsels them to demonstrate by their
conduct the universality of the Faith they have espoused, and vindicate
its high principles. In that same Document its Author reveals the
significance and purpose of the Huququ'llah (Right of God), already
instituted in the Kitab-i-Aqdas; enjoins submission and fidelity towards