After he returned from his journey to Syria, Muḥammadsa continued to reside with Abū Ṭālib. It was a custom among the Arabs, that children were given the responsibility of tending the cattle. Hence the young Muḥammadsa also undertook the task of pasturing goats and performed this task on various occasions. In the time of his prophethood, the Holy Prophetsa would say that:
“The pasturing of goats is the tradition of the prophets1 and I too have pastured goats.” On one occasion, while travelling, the companions of the Holy Prophetsa were gathering some fruit upon which the Prophetsa said, “Search for this particular fruit in darker colour, for when I used to tend to the goats, I have found through experience, that the darker its shade of black, the finer it proves to be.”2
1 From this it can be concluded that the work of prophets, in a way, is like that of a Shepherd. Therefore, by assigning prophets the work of a Shepherd in their young age, God indicates through depicted foreshadowing that they should soon prepare themselves to tend to the flocks of humanity. (Author)
2 Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, Kitābu Aḥādīthil-Anbīyā’, Bābu Ya‘kifūna ‘alā Aṣnāmin lahum, Ḥadīth No. 3406