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Whether you are buying or selling a home in Scottsdale Ranch, The Holm Group is here to assist you. The Holm Group represents both buyers and sellers in Scottsdale Ranch and has been a member of the Scottsdale Ranch community since 2005. Whether it's a luxury home, waterfront property, single family home or town home you can rely on The Holm Group to ensure a smooth and successful transaction. Remove the stress from buying or selling and let The Holm Group assist you today.

DC Ranch is a nationally acclaimed private golf and residential community in Scottsdale. DC Ranch has been developed with a deep respect for the integrity of the land and a commitment to the preservation of open desert space on a spectacular piece of land at the base of the McDowell Mountains which provides panoramic views of Scottsdale and Phoenix below. Four distinctive village neighborhoods, centered around neighborhood parks, offer a variety of attached villas, single-family homes, luxury apartments and condominiums. Shared by all the residents are remarkable amenities offered at 2 community centers. Some of the features include lighted tennis and basketball courts, Olympic-size pool, children's wading pool, children's adventure playground, exercise and fitness room, poolside and garden patios, meeting rooms for clubs, celebrations and events, a community-wide intranet, and a full calendar of events and activities. Walking trails will eventually extend to over 33 miles.

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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!"

Regarding adab

More questions: "Shaykh Nazim, how should I handle my children?"

"With children, you must deal with them like children."

"But I have no experience in that matter. I don't know..."

"With a big man, like a big man. With little boys, like little boys. With a learned man, like a learned man. With a common man, like himself. With each man on his level."

"How do I know when I'm on their level?"

"You must put yourself in their position. You must think, 'If I were that man, how would I act?' Even a judge, when he is going to judge a case, must put himself in the position of the defendant before he makes his decision, or he will be wrong. Understand?

"Allah Almighty is the Judge of Judges," The Shaykh continued. "On the Day of Resurrection, He will show everyone all his actions, from the course of his life, and will leave judgment to that servant, to judge for himself. 'What is your judgment for that person whose life passed as you see it now?' He will say. Then, that servant will judge for himself. It is the spirit, the essence of judgment. If a man can judge for himself, it is exact justice. Therefore, when you're judging for someone in your life, you must put yourself, in his position, in his conditions. Then, you will speak for him, for her, for children, for older man, for everyone. Clear?"

"Yes, The thing that I get anxious about is whether I'm being too hard, or not hard enough."

"For whom?" asked the Shaykh.

"For the children," replied the murid.

Shaykh Nazim said, "The best thing for them is to be between fear and hope. Sometimes you must make them fear you, and sometimes they must have hope from you. Not always hard, and not always soft. You must use this side and that side, understand? Prophets, and our Prophet (peace be upon him), have been ordered by their Lord to sometimes give good tidings, and to sometimes give warnings."

To this, the murid said, "I don't know, yet, how I would do such a thing."

Shaykh Nazim said, "When you are back home, your inspirations will guide you. Don't be worried about that point."

Another disciple said, "About the dhikr that we do; fifteen hundred 'Allah' at night, 'la illaha illAllah,' and the wird; is there anything else we should say?"

The Shaykh answered, "Enough. You may also say Salawat."

A murid asked Shaykh Nazim a question about his family difficulties, and the Shaykh responded, "You have been guided. Wherever you may be there is guidance directing you. Don't be worried."

"When we are eating meat, how can we know if it is Halal?" a murid asked.

"When I first met our Grandshaykh, " Shaykh Nazim replied," I was also very strict, very particular, about my food. But he told me, 'It is not good manners to be like that. When you are a guest, you must not ask, 'Is this food clean?' No! You must give your host the benefit of the doubt. When you know that the food is pork, don't eat it, but say instead, 'I am a vegetarian,' or something like this. You must have good manners toward everybody. If you are in doubt as to whether meat (assuming that it is not pork) is halal or not, you may say, three times, 'shahada,' and, seventy times, 'astaghfirullah. ' Then, as you eat, and you say, 'Bismillah,' Allah Almighty will make that food clean for you, in the time it takes for you to raise it from your plate and put it in your mouth!

"When you are buying meat and you think that it has come in contact with pork, or utensils that have been used to handle and prepare pork, you may wash it, and repeat the formula we just said. If you can obtain Halal (or Kosher) meat, of course it is best. But, when you are somebody's guest, don't ask! Even if it is known to you that they usually cook with lard, you must assume that, this time, for you, they cleaned their pots and pans and didn't use it. Only if you are certain that pork or pork products were used may you refrain from eating."

"Shaykh Nazim?" asked another brother. "My parents are very upset with my becoming Muslim. 'If you are looking for spiritual teachings,' they say, 'why can't you find them within your own religion?' My question is, are there teachers like you within other religions?"

"Once," said Maulana, "I was walking in the marketplace with our Grandshaykh, when a Christian priest came up to him and kissed Grandshaykh' s hand. Then, he gave salaams and went on his way quickly.

"Seeing my surprise, our Grandshaykh turned to me and said, "There are others like him, Nazim Effendi, who wait secretly for Mahdi (peace be upon him) to come. They are hidden. The Time is not yet come for them to be known!'

"Therefore, we are saying that for a teacher to give authentic spiritual teachings, he must know the reality of Muhammad (peace be upon him).

"Among the shaykhs and teachers, there are so many levels. They are like helicopters, jets, and rockets. Each flies at his level. It is not important for us to worry about so many levels. It is most important for us to conquer our nafs. That is the critical thing."

They Shaykh continued, "We must respect all men in their religion, for no one can know what is the relationship between a man and his Lord.

"Once a great Wali was traveling on his way when he came across a shepherd who was bowed down in prayer. The Wali looked at the man's clothing, in which he had been working all day, and became annoyed.

"How can you pray like that?' he said to the shepherd. 'Your clothes are dirty, and you smell like your sheep! Don't you know that you must pray in clean clothes?'

"The shepherd remained quiet for a minute, and then looked up, startled. 'O, Shaykh, forgive me!' he said. 'I do not hear what you said. I was tending my sheep when my Lord ordered me into sajdah, and just now He was speaking to me. Is there something I may help you with?'

"When that Wali heard this, he became ashamed. 'O, my Lord, forgive me for judging Your servant!' he cried, and threw himself immediately into sajdah."

Illahi Anta maqsudi, wa ridhaKa mathlubi

You are my goal and Your Pleasure is my desire