Any member of the Bābī movement who remained faithful to the teachings of the Bāb and his chosen successor, Mīrzā Yahya, known as Ṣobḥ-e Azal, after the movement split in 1863.
For 13 years after the Bāb's execution, followers recognized Ṣobḥ-e Azal as their leader. Then Ṣobḥ-e Azal's half-brother, Bahā Ullāh , privately declared himself to be the prophet whose coming the Bāb had foretold. The Azalīs rejected him, but most Bābīs followed him, establishing the Bahāī faith in 1867. Now located almost exclusively in Iran, the Azalīs probably number no more than a few thousand.