… this Administrative Order is fundamentally different from
anything that any Prophet has previously established, inasmuch as Bahá'u'lláh
has Himself revealed its principles, established its institutions, appointed
the person to interpret His Word and conferred the necessary authority on the
body designed to supplement and apply His legislative ordinances. Therein lies
the secret of its strength, its fundamental distinction, and the guarantee
against disintegration and schism. Nowhere in the sacred scriptures of any of
the world's religious systems, nor even in the writings of the Inaugurator of
the Bábí Dispensation, do we find any provisions establishing a covenant or
providing for an administrative order that can compare in scope and authority
with those that lie at the very basis of the Bahá'í Dispensation.
- Shoghi
Effendi (‘The World Order of Baha'u'llah’)
