Part 17

1) Patience: A shepherd is busy taking care of his flock from the rising of the sun until nightfall. Since sheep take so long to graze, a shepherd needs to be very patient in dealing with his flock. Likewise, a leader also has to be patient with his people, albeit for different reasons.

Castle life, comfort, and luxury - a shepherd knows none of these things. All day long, he is outside in very hot weather, and extremely hot weather if he is working in the Arabian Peninsula. He therefore needs plentiful water to quench his constant thirst, and all that he is able to find is coarse food. In short, the shepherd’s life is a hard life, and so he must be very patient in coping with his daily hardships.

2) Humbleness: The very nature of a shepherd’s work requires him to be humble. Serving sheep, supervising the delivery of a baby sheep, guarding sheep from predators, and sleeping in close proximity to the flock - these are the day-to-day duties of a shepherd. Being in close contact with his flock throughout the day, a shepherd might sometimes be sprayed with urine or come into contact with dung. But none of this perturbs the shepherd, and so as each day of labor passes, pride and arrogance are driven further away from his heart, and humbleness becomes more and more his defining characteristic. It is related in Saheeh Muslim that the Messenger of Allah #% said, “He who has an atom’s weight (or the weight of a small ant) of pride in his heart does not enter

' Saheeh Bukhaaree, “The Book of Hiring Out’; chapter, “Herding Sheep for Qaraareet.” Hadeeth number: 2262.

3) Bravery: Because of a shepherd's job description, his natural enemies are all predatory animals. To stave off the attacks of wild animals upon his flock, a shepherd certainly has to be very brave.

4) Mercy and compassion: Like human beings, sheep are prone to sickness, disease, and accidents. And it is their shepherd who must act as their caretaker and doctor while they are convalescing. If one is merciful to animals - as is a shepherd - then it is more than likely that he will be even more merciful towards other human beings, particularly so if he is a Messenger # sent by Allah 3 to teach mankind, guide them, and save them from the Hellfire.

"1 Saheeh Muslim, “The Book of Faith”; chapter, “The Prohibition of Pride and an Explanation (of this Ruling).” Hadeeth number: 91.

“They said: ‘Have you come to us to turn us away from that (faith) we found our fathers following, — and that you two may have greatness in the land? We are not going to believe you two!”

Fir’aun thought the same about Moosa 3. Because love of the world and its pleasures fully dominates their thoughts, motives, and actions, disbelievers think that others are the same, that the purpose behind any movement is the achievement of some worldly end, which is why the Prophets 38 clarified to their peoples that they wanted no worldly treasures from them:

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“And O my people! I ask of you no wealth for it, my reward is from none but Allah. Iam not going to drive away those who have believed. Surely, they are going to meet their Lord, but I see that you are a people that are ignorant.” (Qur‘an 11: 29)

Bukhaaree related from Al-Miqdaam that the Messenger of Allah #¢ said, “No one has ever eaten better food than that which he eats from what he works at with his hand. And verily, the Prophet of Allah, Daawood 2, would eat from the work of his hand.)

When one is self-sufficient, depending upon no one but Allah 4, one gains the freedom of being able to speak the truth. Because they are dependant upon the generosity of others, many people bow their heads low before evildoers, remaining silent about their wrongdoing because they fear losing their jobs and their livelihood.

{ Saheeh Bukhaaree, “The Book of Business Transactions”; chapter, “A Man’s Earnings, and the Work He Does with his Hand.” Hadeeth number: 2072.

All of the above-mentioned characteristics were being developed in the Prophet #%, regardless of whether he realized that that was the case at the time - it is possible he didn’t realize the significance of what was happening to him, since he # didn’t know that he #¢ was soon to be charged with the duties of Prophethood.

The Prophet # was faithful, caring, and sensitive to the needs of others. His uncle took care of him with all of his energy and soul, showing him the love and compassion of a father. How did the Prophet # respond to that love? No sooner did he feel in himself the ability to earn money than he went out to work and toil, so that he could contribute to pay for his uncle’s household expenses.

We also gain from the Prophet's early employment an idea of the life that Allah $6 wants his obedient slaves to lead in this world. It was certainly easy upon Allah 3 to provide a comfortable and easy existence for the Prophet #%, so that he would have no pressing reason to work all day in the heat of the desert, serving his flock. But Allah’s Wisdom dictated that the Prophet # - and all Muslims - instead learn an important lesson: the best wealth a person gains is the wealth he earns through hard work, through providing valuable services to society and mankind. And the worst wealth a man receives is the wealth he is given while he is lying down on his back, the wealth he does not work to gain, the wealth that is given to him not as payment for valuable services provided to society and mankind.

How Allah 4 Protected The Prophet # During The Early Years Of His Life

Even during the pre-Islamic days of ignorance, Allah 3 protected the Prophet #s from idol worship and from all forms of polytheism. ‘Urwah related that Khadeejah’s neighbour - during pre-Islamic times - informed him that he once heard the Prophet #% say to Khadeejah %, “O Khadeejah, by Allah, I will never worship Al-Laat and Al-'Uzzaa."] These were the names

(1) Al-Musnad, Hadeeth number: 17947, and its chain is authentic.

of idols that the Quraish would worship. Also, both the Prophet # and Zaid ibn ‘Amr ibn Nufail (may Allah have mercy on him) would abstain from eating the meat of animals that were slaughtered by other than the Name of Allah ds.

To be sure, Allah $& protected the Prophet #% from the vile deeds that result from the recklessness of youth; but He 3 also protected the Prophet # from lesser sins as well, since many minor foibles are not compatible with the dignity of one whose mission it is in life to save others from the Hellfire. ‘Alee ibn Abee Taalib 4 reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah 2 say, “I never resolved to do any of bad things that the people of ignorance would resolve to do, except on two occasions in life; and on both occasions, Allah protected me from perpetrating those bad things. One night, I was north of Makkah in the company of a young man from the Quraish; we were with his family’s sheep, which he was herding, when I said to him, ‘Watch over my sheep, so that I can while away this evening with conversation and entertainment in Makkah, just as other youth while away their evenings with conversation and entertainment.’ He said, ‘Yes,’ and so I set out (for Makkah). When I reached the nearest house from the houses of Makkah, I heard singing, the striking of Dufoof (drum-like instruments), and (the sound of) pipes. I asked, ‘What is this?’ They (people nearby perhaps) said, ‘Such and such man married such and such woman.’ It was a man from the Quraish who had married a woman from the Quraish. And so I amused myself with that singing and with those sounds until sleep overcame me (right there where I was), and then the only thing that woke me up was the heat of the sun, and so I returned. He (i.e., the other shepherd) asked, ‘What did you do?’ I informed him (about what had happened). Then I made a similar request to him on another night, and he agreed. I set out (towards Makkah), and I heard sounds that were similar (to the sounds of the earlier night), and words similar to what was spoken to me (on the earlier night) were spoken to me (again). I amused myself with what I heard, until sleep overcame my eyes. And it was only the touching of the sun that awoke me. Then I returned to my companion, who said,

“What did you do?’ I said, ‘I didn’t do anything.’ By Allah, after that, I never again resolved to perpetrate the evil that the people of ignorance would perpetrate. I continued upon that (protected state) until Allah 3 honoured me by making me His Prophet.”

This Hadeeth clarifies two important realities:

1) The Prophet #% possessed the main characteristics that are common to all human beings. He felt the same inward inclinations and desires that all young people feel, and he understood what it meant to while away the hours of the night with conversation and entertainment. He 2 knew that evenings spent in such a manner were enjoyable, and within himself his soul was saying to him, “Would that you enjoyed some of the things that other people enjoy.”