Answering a doubt: The Prophet of Islam said that the prophets were shepherds ! Someone said: Did the Prophet of Islam tell the truth when he said: The prophets used to herd sheep....?! Is it true that all the prophets used to herd sheep, and what is the historical evidence for the validity of that...?! He related to that what was mentioned in Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book of (Hiring), Chapter (Shepherding sheep for qirats), No. 2102, on the authority of Abu Hurairah, may God be pleased with him, on the authority of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, who said: “Allah did not send a prophet except that he tended sheep.” His companions said: And you? He said: "Yes, I used to herd them for a few qirats for the people of Mecca."

The response to the doubt

: First: The objector's objection is the result of a lie or ignorance - if I think well - ... because he is ignorant of his holy book which mentioned that the prophets used to herd sheep... This is the document I rely on - as we will see -. As for us - Muslims - we believe the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him) - if they are authentic - because his words are revelation from God; truth in which there is no doubt forever....

As I hinted, the objector is mocking the profession of (sheep herding) because he is looking short-sightedly at his time and place in which energy, technology, satellites, and all kinds of advanced means of transportation have become widespread... and he is completely blind to distant times that are different from his days and conditions....!

Second: The historical document that satisfies the objector and refutes his doubt; It is his holy book that he believes in and is ignorant of....

This is from two aspects: The first aspect: The Holy Bible did not mention all the lives of all the prophets in precise detail, even Jesus Christ himself... The second aspect: It is proven that most of the prophets in the Holy Bible were herders of sheep... I will suffice with the following:

1- Genesis Chapter 12 Verse 16 And he dealt well with Abram because of them, and he had sheep, and oxen, and donkeys, and male and female servants, and female donkeys, and camels. 2- Genesis Chapter 13 Verse 5 And Lot, who was walking with Abram, also had sheep, and oxen, and tents. 3- Genesis Chapter 28 Verse 21 And Abraham set up seven ewe lambs from the flock by themselves. 4- Genesis Chapter 30 Verse 26 And he set a distance of three days between himself and Jacob. And Jacob was tending the rest of Laban's flock. 5- Genesis Chapter 37 Verse 3 These are the generations of Jacob: Joseph, when he was seventeen years old, was tending the flock with his brothers, and he was a lad with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought their evil slander to their father. 6- Genesis Chapter 37 Verse 12 And his brothers went to tend their father's flock near Shechem. 7- Genesis Chapter 47 Verse 3 Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, What is your occupation? And they said to Pharaoh, Your servants are shepherds , both we and our fathers. 37 8- Genesis Chapter 14 Verse 26 So he had flocks of sheep and flocks of cattle, and many servants, and the Philistines envied him.

9- Exodus 3:1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. 2 And he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 10- Joshua 7:22 And Joshua took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his donkeys, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had, and all Israel with him, and they brought them up to the Valley of Achor.

11- 1 Samuel 16:11 And Samuel said to Jesse, Are the young men yet finished? And he said, There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the flock. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and bring him. 12- 1 Samuel 16:19 Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse, saying, Send me David your son, which is with the flock. 13- 1 Samuel Chapter 17 Verse 15 And David went and came from Saul to tend his father's sheep in Bethlehem. 14- 1 Chronicles Chapter 7 Verse 17 Now thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people Israel. 15- Job Chapter 12 Verse 42 And the Lord blessed the latter part of Job more than the beginning, and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys.

So through the previous texts it becomes clear to us: that Abraham, Lot, Jacob and their fathers and sons including (Joseph), Moses, Joshua, David, and Job... were all tending sheep according to the objector's own book, and this indicates his lie or ignorance....!