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'Abdu'l-Baha, writing in confirmation of the authority conferred upon Him by Baha'u'llah, makes the following statement: "In accordance with the explicit text of the Kitab-i-Aqdas Baha'u'llah hath made the Center of the Covenant the Interpreter of His Word a Covenant so firm and mighty that from the beginning of time until the present day no religious Dispensation hath produced its like." (136:3) Exalted as is the rank of 'Abdu'l-Baha, and however profuse the praises with which in these sacred Books and Tablets Baha'u'llah has glorified His son, so unique a distinction must never be construed as conferring upon its recipient a station identical with, or equivalent to, that of His Father, the Manifestation Himself. To give such an interpretation to any of these quoted passages would at once, and for obvious reasons, bring it into conflict with the no less clear and authentic assertions and warnings to which I have already referred. Indeed, as I have already stated, those who overestimate 'Abdu'l-Baha's station are just as reprehensible and have done just as much harm as those who underestimate it. And this for no other reason except that by insisting upon an altogether unwarranted inference from Baha'u'llah's writings they are inadvertently justifying and continuously furnishing the enemy with proofs for his false accusations and misleading statements.
(136:4)
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