Protection: Guarding the Flock From Every Danger

Third, protection: the shepherd protects the flock. There are various dangers, seen or unseen — you have wolves, you have other beasts, and then you have diseases. All of this, the shepherd needs to be on top of, and needs to consistently make sure that no dangers are affecting the flock. And the prophets of Allah are very protective of their people — they try to protect them from physical and psychological dangers.

In Madīnah, at night, suddenly a commotion was heard. So some of the Companions immediately picked up their weapons and got on their horses, racing towards the source of the sound. They went there, and to their amazement, they found the Prophet already on his way back, telling them, "Lan turaʿū" — everything is fine. So even though the Companions were so fast and swift in getting there, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was already there before them — he checked it out, made sure that it was fine, and came back.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would warn them from Shayṭān, would warn them from every danger — he has not left any danger that could afflict us without warning us about it. He even talked about events in the future — al-Dajjāl. He told the Companions, "I have warned you about al-Dajjāl like no other prophet has warned his people" — meaning, he had given them more details than anybody else. "If he comes out while I am among you, I will take care of that. If he comes out after I pass away, then everyone is responsible for their own protection." So that's another lesson the prophets learned from being shepherds.