The split occurred after Baháʼí founder Baháʼu'lláh made his public claim in 1863, leading to expressions of support from the majority of the Bábí community, and opposition from Subh-i-Azal, who became the leader of the remaining group.
Siyyid ʻAlí-Muhammad was a merchant from Shiraz, Persia, who at the age of 25, claimed to be a new and independent Manifestation of God, and the promised Qá'im, or Mihdí of Islam.
In his early writings he took on the title of the Báb, meaning "Gate", after a Shaykhi concept that explained he was only a, 'door', or 'gate', for a soon to come Manifestation of God, or Prophet.
[4] The Báb eliminated the institution of successorship or vicegerency to his movement, and stated that no other person's writings would be binding after his death until Him Whom God shall make manifest would appear.
"[8] Multiple versions of this tablet exist, and Browne notes in his translation that this copy of the letter is actually in Subh-i-Azal's handwriting rather than the Báb's.
[10] In addition to the difficulties of collecting original Bábí documents at such a distance — Browne was at Cambridge — was the widespread Azali practice of Taqiyya (Dissimulation), or concealing one's beliefs.
He generally absented himself from the Bábí community, spending his time in Baghdad in hiding and disguise; he even went so far as to publicly disavow allegiance to the Báb on several occasions.
[14] Baháʼu'lláh claimed that in 1852, while a prisoner in Tehran, he was visited by a "Maid of Heaven", which symbolically marked the beginning of his mission as a Messenger of God.
In 1863 as he was leaving Baghdad in the Garden of Ridván, he made his first public declaration to be Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest, the messianic figure in the Báb's writings, to a small number of followers.
[15] This declaration started a new phase of leadership in the Bábí community that would eventually lead to the emergence of the Baháʼí Faith as a separate movement distinct from Bábism.
[19] This pattern was repeated when, according to the personal account of Ustád Muhammad-ʻAlíy-i Salmání, Subh-i Azal attempted to persuade him likewise to murder Baháʼu'lláh in the bath.
[14] Subh-i-Azal responded by making his own claims, but his attempt to preserve the traditional Bábísm was largely unpopular, and his followers became the minority.
[15] In 1867, Subh-i-Azal challenged Baháʼu'lláh to a test of the divine will in a local mosque in Edirne (Adrianople),[18] such that "God would strike down the impostor."
[18][24][25] Eventually Baháʼu'lláh was recognized by the vast majority of Bábís as "He whom God shall make manifest" and his followers began calling themselves Baháʼís.
After the Bábí community was separated into two, the Azalis tried to discredit Baháʼu'lláh to the Ottoman authorities, accusing him of causing agitation against the government.
Eventually Baháʼu'lláh was recognized by the vast majority of Bábís as "He whom God shall make manifest" and his followers began calling themselves Baháʼís.
One Baháʼí historian has concluded: "Bahaullah clearly announced that the recognition of the manifestation of God and 'steadfastness' [in] His Cause is more important than observing any of the other teachings.
The extent of taqiyyah in their words and actions caused Mirza Abu'l-Faḍl to question Edward Browne's method of portraying of Azali Babis.
[40] The Báb states that after his death no one else's writings will be binding until the appearance of He whom God shall make manifest, and the text of the Arabic Bayán was written in a style termed "divine verses", and the Báb states that in another one of his writings that after him only He whom God shall make manifest can reveal divine verses.
[40] Also, the Nuqtatu'l-Kaf, an Azali text, states that the laws of the Bayán may be abrogated a few years after the Báb's death, and that He whom God shall make manifest may appear within Subh-i-Azal's lifetime.
In many of his writings he refers to the year nine and nineteen from the beginning of his claimed revelation (1844) as to the appearance of He whom God shall make manifest.
[43][44] In 1863 as he was leaving Baghdad in the Garden of Ridván, Baháʼu'lláh made his first public declaration to be Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest.
According to Taherzadeh: "Mirza Yahya [Subh-i-Azal] came into prominence not because he possessed any outstanding qualities, but rather through his close link with Baháʼu'lláh.
In order to divert the attention of the enemies of the Faith from the person of Baháʼu'lláh, Who had emerged as a focal point among the early believers, the Báb wholeheartedly approved the suggestion of nominating the youthful and relatively unknown Mirza Yahya [Subh-i-Azal] as the chief of the Bábí community.
The advantages of this nomination were obvious and, as this system operated for some time, those who were endowed with insight and wisdom were able to see that Mirza Yahya was only a figurehead, and that it was the guiding hand of Baháʼu'lláh alone that was unobtrusively directing the affairs of the Bábí community after the martyrdom of the Báb.
"[45]This view is supported by the Báb's long-time secretary Mulla Abdu'l-Karim-i-Qazvini, believed to be the only other person who participated in the plan.
[50][51] Azalis rejected the divine claims of Baháʼu'lláh as premature, arguing that the world must first accept the laws of the Báb before He Whom God Shall Make Manifest can appear.