Just as Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) grazed goats in his childhood with his foster brothers while in the custody of Hazrat Haleemah (radhiyallahu ‘anha), similarly he also grazed goats as he grew older.
Hazrat Jaabir bin ‘Abdillah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) narrates, “We were once with Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) in a place named Zahraan when we began to pluck fruit from the salvadora persica tree (miswaak tree).Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said to us, ‘Look for and pick the fruit that is dark, as it is tastier.’ We then asked, ‘O Rasul of Allah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)! Did you graze goats (due to which you would know this)?’ Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) replied, ‘There is no Nabi who did not graze goats.’”
Hazrat Abu Hurairah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) reports that Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, “There was not a single prophet who did not graze goats.” The Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) asked, “Even you, O Prophet of Allah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)?” Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) replied, “Yes, I also used to graze the goats of the people of Makkah Mukarramah (in my youth, before nubuwwah) for a few qaraareet (plural of qeeraat – a coin weighing approximately 0.2 grams of silver).”
(Extracted from Seeratul Mustafa 1/97)
