the succession to the Báb was not an open question but a settled matter that was later overturned. A.-L.-M. Nicolas

Synthesizing the historical evidence compiled during his decades of research, A.-L.-M. Nicolas presents a clear and unambiguous conclusion: the succession to the Báb was not an open question but a settled matter that was later overturned.

The primary points of his analysis are compelling. Subh-i-Azal was the Báb's explicitly named and publicly acknowledged successor, a fact confirmed by the near-unanimous allegiance of the early Babi community. In stark contrast, Baha'u'llah's claim to leadership was constructed upon a professed ignorance of the Báb's most sacred texts and required a systematic demotion of the Báb's prophetic station from that of a law-giving prophet to a simple herald. The evidence of their respective actions—Subh-i-Azal's quiet obedience and Baha'u'llah's open ambition—further reinforces this conclusion.

Ultimately, Nicolas's research portrays the Babi movement as having been fundamentally and deliberately transformed into the Baha'i Faith through what Nicolas's evidence portrays as a calculated and successful usurpation of leadership, an act that permanently severed the Baha'i Faith from the historical trajectory of the Báb's original revelation.

https://archive.org/details/nicolas-qui-est-le-successeur-du-bab-1933