The Reality of Muhammad (saw)

"Our Grandhsyakh says, "The honor of a man is according to his Divine knowledge. As much as he has this Divine knowledge, he has high degrees and high ranks. Understand? Therefore, all prophets and saints have ranks, according to their Divine knowledge. Also, according to their Divine Knowledge, they approach the Divine Presence."

Shaykh Nazim continued, "All prophets' and saints' ranks are given from our Prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon him). All knowledge, Divine knowledge, also comes from Muhammad (peace be upon him).

"He has been given the knowledge of past times and future times. You asked about the prophets before Muhammad (peace be upon him) - do they know him? Yes, because Quran says that before prophets were sent to mankind from the spiritual world, they knew the last of prophets, Muhammad (peace be upon him). Allah Almighty said to them, 'He is the last, and the greatest prophet. If he comes during your time, then you are not prophets, you will be his followers! Do you accept this?' And they said, 'Yes!'

"Therefore, all prophets know our Prophet (peace be upon him). They believe in him, and order their nations to believe in him also, in order that they may complete their faith as prophets. They have ordered their nations to believe in all prophets, past and future."

"And they got their knowledge from him also?" asked a murid.

"Yes," answered the Shaykh. "He is the first prophet. He is the first creature that Allah Almighty created, the first one that He spoke to, and Divine knowledge is, therefore, coming to all prophets from the way of Muhammad (peace be upon him)."

"In other words," said a murid, "Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a mediator between Allah and the other prophets?"

The Shaykh answered, "Yes."

Another said, "There are many places in the Bible that speak of Muhammad (peace be upon him)."

"Yes," replied Maulana, "the station of Muhammad is nearest to his Lord. No one, not even Gabriel can approach as Muhammad (peace be upon him) approached his Lord. Therefore, Gabriel took from Muhammad (peace be upon him), and gave to all the other prophets."

"When Muhammad (peace be upon him) was born," asked a brother, "did he know that he would be a prophet?"

"When he was born," replied the Shaykh, "he signed, with his hand, 'La illaha illAllah Muhammadurrasululla h.' At that moment, he was in sajdah! How could he not know?"

"He knew it, consciously, throughout his life," asked another. "As opposed to subconciously? The stories we've read say that he didn't know until Quran started coming."

Maulana gestured toward a child, who was playing in the mosque. "That boy," he said, "knows that he is male, but the reality of that has not appeared to him yet. He knows that he is a boy, not a girl, but until he is fifteen years old, he will not know what the personality of a man is. In this way, the Prophet (peace be upon him) knew himself, but the apearance of his reality didn't come to him exactly until he was forty years old."

Someone repeated, "He knew he would be a prophet, but he didn't know what it would be like?"

"Yes," replied the Shaykh, "Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, 'I was prophet when Adam (peace be upon him) was yet a piece of clay!'

"These things belong to belief. You cannot force people to believe in anything. They are free; they may believe or not. We believe according to verses and hadiths, yes! All prophets' and saints' knowledge, beside our Prophet's knowledge, is as one drop to an ocean. All Grandshaykhs say this. All prophets say this. If any one objects to this point they may ask any prophet or any saint, if they say it is not true, we may change this. They may ask their prophets, they may ask their saint; they will get an answer. I am asking, and getting my answer.

"Allah gave to Muhammad (peace be upon him) an ocean. And Muhammad (peace be upon him) gave to all prophets and saints from that ocean! How much have they been given? If taken all together, it is like one drop beside Muhammad's oceans!"

"Does Muhammad (peace be upon him) have completed knowledge of Allah?" someone aksed.

"Muhammad's knoweldge is like an ocean for prophets and awliya," replied the Shaykh. "But, beside Allah's knoweldge ocean, the ocean of Muhammad (peace upon him) is only a drop, a very small drop! Because Muhammad's ocean is limited, and Allah's ocean is unlimited.

Our Grandshaykh said often, 'If you put a needle in an ocean, that needle is the knowledge of Muhammad (peace ve upon him). When you take that needle out of the water, there will be a tiny drop of water at the tip. That tiny drop is like an ocean in front of all prophets and Awliya!'

"Therefore, we say that the Divine knowledge is an endless ocean. You cannot reach complete knowledge of Allah Almighty. Never! Shaykh Muhammad Salli asked me if the knowledge of prophets and saints stopped, or keeps on improving - it improves! It always improves! As much as our Prophet (peace be upon him) is improving, all prophets are also taking more and more."

"Where in the afterlife?"

"Yes."

"Where are the prophets now? In Barzakh?"

"In Barzakh."

"In Barzakh, do they receive more knowledge from Muhammad (peace be upon him)?"

"No, Muhammad (peace be upon him) also takes more, and gives more."

"Muhammad (peace be upon him) takes more knowledge too?"

"Yes, always."

"Still?"

"Still."

"And the other pprophets receive more knowledge, too?"

"Yes, also!"

"In Barzakh?"

"All of them!"

"Do you receive more knowledge?"

"Yes," replied Shaykh Nazim.

"Then acquiring knowledge is not finished in Barzakh?"

"No," said Maulana, "Allah's giving has no end. Allah is not like man, finished. If He is finished with His treasure, it means that He is like us. How could He be Allah, if He were like us? Everything with Him is endless. Knowledge is endless. He is giving, more and more. And we, here, do not know anything. When we go from this life, when we leave this body and enter in a new life, our spirits go into a knowledge ocean, following the Prophet (peace be upon him), to take more and more. No one leaves this life without taking knowledge. All of them are taking Divine knowledge after their death."

A murid asked, "But, then, why all the anxiousness? "

"To complete them," answered Shaykh Nazim. "To complete. Some people are going on donkeys, and some are riding in cars. Both of them are increasing their knowledge.

"Some people know," he went on, "and some people have been veiled; they cannot know to where they are approaching; where they are going. When veils are lifted, at the last moment when you are leaving this life, at that time you can know where you are!"

"How is it to be a shaykh?" asked a brother. "We don't know what a shaykh is, what your station is like. You are as you are, while we are as we are, and Grandshaykh is as he is..."

"For everyone, there is a station," said Maulana, "and, in that station, some are ready to fly up, some are getting ready, and some are not ready. For rockets there is a base, a platform upon which they sit until take-off. For each person also there is a base, a station, and his rocket is being put on it. Some poeple complete their work during their lives. Then, they are sent!"

"While still alive?"

"Yes," replied the Shaykh. "Those who 'die before they die."

"For them, it is increasing now?" someone asked.

Shaykh Nazim answered, "Yes, but so many people are sleeping. Their rockets are still on their bases; until the end of their life comes. Then they will be thrown by Driving force!"

"Maulana, did the Grandhsaykh, throughout his long life, get more knowledge, new knowledge, every day and every night?"

"That knowledge belongs to our spirits," said Maulana.

"Yes," the murid went on, "but did he get more knowledge every day and every night?"

"Every hour, every moment."

"More and more?"

"More and more," said that Shaykh, "but that knowledge, what is its benefit? It makes man approach the Divine Presence, and you cannot know which person is approaching.

"Our Prophet (peace be upon him) was in the Divine Presence day and night," continued the Shaykh, "but, he was sitting with his sahabas. Who could know that he was in the Divine Presence? Only a few sahabas; even one of his wives who was sleeping with him - but where was the Prophet (peace be upon him)? Was he with her, or was he with his Lord?"

Shaykh Nazim paused for a moment, and then went on, "Yes, it is an unknown thing. Perhaps you are in the Divine Presence, but there are no signs. He Almighty knows, and if He is giving some signs, you may know. This knowledge is yet for our bodies."

"That which we are getting now?" a brother asked.

"Yes," replied the Shaykh. "Now, we are learning letters. We have not yet reached the point where we can put those letters side by side for reading. No, this that we are doing now is as a practice which must be done first. Then, you will know. When your old ways will go away, a new world will appear to you; one you never saw before! You will approach the 'lay'ill ma'fuz (the 'preserved tablet' where all things are recorded.) Finished!

"Isn't there danger in that?" asked a murid. (Everyone laughed.) "Someone once told me that when you see all those beautiful things, you should be careful not to get caught up in them; that they'll catch you along the way, that you can get caught in the garden!"

"Who said that?" the Shaykh asked. A certain fellow was named. "Yes, yes!" the Shaykh smiled, and then continued, "It is only a description! It will be more different from this life, from this world. It will be very beautiful, very enjoyable for yor spirit; not like this dirty world. It is very clean, beautiful, joyful - exact happiness, no harm, no bad things, no death, no ugly things!"