Maulana Wahiduddin Khan I The Sunday Guardian I March 8, 2015
Who is a complete person? He is someone in whom the human attributes are found in the fullest possible manner.
He embodies these attributes to the maximum possible extent, attributes that God has given in potential form to every single human being. Such a person has a balanced character. He is free from psychological complexes. He lets his conscience prevail over his ego in every situation, until he becomes an emblem of a soul at peace.
A complete person is one, who, passing over the material things of the world, begins to live in the higher realities of life. He rises above things of superficial importance and engages himself in matters of deeper significance.
He reaches the stage of perception described in a hadith as the ability to "see things as they are". Such a person thus begins to see things as they truly are, rather than as they externally appear to be. He willingly bows down before a reasoned argument just as a person bows down before might. He judges matters on their true merit, not because they may be for or against him. Despite having great capabilities, he develops in himself modesty. He is free from every sort of negative emotion. He relates to people without making any distinction of "friend" and "stranger". He is completely above personal interest. Instead of living in his own self, he lives by the higher principles of life.
God has made every human being a complete person in the potential sense. But to turn this potential "completeness" into a reality, that is, in the form of a real character, is a task for each person to do.
The secret of becoming a complete person lies in inculcating a sense of deep God-consciousness. It is the fear of God that makes someone a complete person.