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Bayani, meaning "of the Bayán", are also often known as Azalis. Bayanis believe that Siyyid 'Ali Muhammad Shirazi, the Báb, was a Manifestation of God, as he declared himself in 1848, after earlier claiming the titles of Remembrance (dhikr), the promised Qa'im or Imam Mihdi, and the Báb'ullah (gate of God) in 1844. The primary book of the Báb is called the Bayán, but in his writings this appears to refer to the collective corpus of his works rather than just two works by that name.

The Báb's followers were originally called Bábís, but the term Bayani more precisely reflects the prophet's own designation of the followers of his religion. In the 1850s a split in the leadership caused those that followed Mirza Husayn 'Ali Bahá'u'lláh to be called Bahá'ís, and those that followed Subh-i Azal to be called Bábís, Bayanis, or popularly Azalis. The substance of this split was over the legitimacy of Mirza Husayn 'AliBahá'u'lláh's claim to being the Bábí messiah He whom God shall make Manifest (man yuzhiruhu'Llah).

The Britannica Concise Encyclopedia states that "the Azalis probably number no more than a few thousand"[1], most likely in isolated pockets in Iran and Northern Cyprus. There is some speculation that small communities of Bayanis might exist in the Central Asian Republic of Uzbekistan.

Recent developments

While some dispute persists on the question, Subh-i-Azal does not seem to have left a successor. After his death the Bayani faith simply devolved onto the rank and file membership (mostly families and kin related to Subh-i-Azal or prominent early members who had stayed in the fold and not converted to the Bahá'í Faith). However, in early 2005 the Bayani community re-emerged in the public eye for the first time in many years with the launching of their website Bayanic.com. Earlier in 2004 Australian based Iranian esotericst Wahid Azal had launched a yahoogroups list specifically dedicated to the religion of the Bayan. But Wahid Azal's Bayani gnostic universalism reflects a sort of radical antinomian, Akbarian Sufi and crypto-Isma'ili gnostic reinterpretation of the Bayani faith rather than the Bayani faith in its standard orthodox formulation. His book Liber Decatriarchia Mystica does however dedicate an entire chapter to the early history of the Bayani faith from a standard Azali perspective.

External links

The Religion of Bayan A website dedicated to the followers of Subh-i Azal

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 ==Recent developments==
-While some dispute persists on the question, [[Subh-i-Azal]] does not seem to have left a successor. After his death the Bayani faith simply devolved onto the rank and file membership (mostly families and kin related to [[Subh-i-Azal]] or prominent early members who had stayed in the fold and not converted to the [[Bahá'í Faith]]). However, in early 2005 the Bayani community re-emerged in the public eye for the first time in many years with the launching of their website [http://www.bayanic.com Bayanic.com]. Earlier in 2004 Australian based Iranian esotericst [[Wahid Azal]] had launched a yahoogroups list specifically dedicated to the religion of the Bayan. But [[Wahid Azal]]'s [[Bayani gnostic universalism]] reflects a sort of radical [[antinomian]], [[Akbarian]] [[Sufi]] and crypto-[[Isma'ili]] [[gnostic]] reinterpretation of the Bayani faith rather than the Bayani faith in its standard orthodox formulation. His book, [[Liber Decatriarchia Mystica]], does however dedicate an entire chapter to the early history of the Bayani faith from a standard Azali perspective.
+While some dispute persists on the question, [[Subh-i-Azal]] does not seem to have left a successor. After his death the Bayani faith simply devolved onto the rank and file membership (mostly families and kin related to [[Subh-i-Azal]] or prominent early members who had stayed in the fold and not converted to the [[Bahá'í Faith]]). However, in early 2005 the Bayani community re-emerged in the public eye for the first time in many years with the launching of their website [http://www.bayanic.com Bayanic.com]. Earlier in 2004 Australian based Iranian esotericst [[Wahid Azal]] had launched a yahoogroups list specifically dedicated to the religion of the Bayan. But [[Wahid Azal]]'s [[Bayani gnostic universalism]] reflects a sort of radical [[antinomian]], [[Akbarian]] [[Sufi]] and crypto-[[Isma'ili]] [[gnostic]] reinterpretation of the Bayani faith rather than the Bayani faith in its standard orthodox formulation. His book [[Liber Decatriarchia Mystica]] does however dedicate an entire chapter to the early history of the Bayani faith from a standard Azali perspective.
 ==See also==