Persian · noun · Character & Virtue
Bebaaki
बेबाकी
said be-BAA-kee
also written: bebaaki, bebaki, be-baki
Meaning
Fearlessness, outspokenness, undaunted candour.
Literally: fearlessness, outspoken boldness
How Iqbal uses it
Bebaaki is fearlessness — the unabashed boldness that speaks and acts without dread of consequence. Iqbal admires the candour and audacity of a self that will not flatter or cower; he reads such fearless frankness as a sign of inner freedom. The bebaak soul dares to question, to challenge the mighty, and to voice truth where others fall silent.
See it in the verse
Bebaaki in Iqbal’s couplets
Yunan o Misr o Roma sab mit gaye jahan se
Ab tak magar hai baqi naam-o-nishan hamara
Ab tak magar hai baqi naam-o-nishan hamara
Greece, Egypt and Rome have all vanished from the world — yet to this day our name and trace remain.
Adversity · Hope
Yunan o Misr o Roma sab mit gaye jahan se
Ab tak magar hai baqi naam-o-nishan hamara
Ab tak magar hai baqi naam-o-nishan hamara
Greece, Egypt and Rome have all vanished from the world — yet to this day our name and trace remain.
Adversity · Hope
Aaeen-e-jawan-mardan haq-goi-o-be-baaki
Allah ke sheron ko aati nahin rubaahi
Allah ke sheron ko aati nahin rubaahi
The code of the brave is to speak the truth and to be fearless — the lions of God do not know the ways of the fox.
Courage · Justice · Selfhood
Haya nahin hai zamane ki aankh mein baaqi
Khuda kare ki jawani teri rahe be-daagh
Khuda kare ki jawani teri rahe be-daagh
No sense of shame is left in the eye of the age; may God keep your youth unstained.
Youth · Self-Knowledge