Simplicity and Closeness to the Creation of Allah

Number five: simplicity. A shepherd is living a very simple life. You can't have all of the accessories of life with you in the desert — you can't take your Mercedes-Benz car and your refrigerator with all of the different fruits and types of food, and have a couch with you in the desert, and have a TV and a remote control — you can't have that in the desert. In the desert, all that you can carry with you is a few items, and that's it. You have to give up all of the things you have, even if you're a wealthy person — you can't have these things with you out there when you're shepherding, you can't have it. You're going out in the desert, walking with these animals, you have to be light. So it teaches them to lead a simple life. A shepherd is eating very simple food, is having very simple accommodations — it teaches them simplicity, they become very simple. And it teaches them to get accustomed to different environments: it could be raining, you still have to feed the animals, it could be cold, hot, windy, all different climates — a shepherd has to deal with that. And the shepherd is the last to take cover; you're responsible for these animals, you have to take them in, you have to protect them. So it teaches them to get accustomed to different ways of life. So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would travel from one place to another, would go out in battles, and he was able to get accustomed to all of this because of his experience as a shepherd.

Six: closeness to the creation of Allah. It pulls you out of the artificial world — you are out with the creation of Allah, close to nature. The life that we are leading could leave some harmful scars on our hearts and our way of thinking. Living in this concrete world, where everything is artificial, is against the natural disposition of our creation. We were created from this earth, and we are close to nature — we are a part of it, and keeping us away from that in this artificial world is keeping us away from contemplating the creation of Allah. Look at how many references are made in the Qur'an to the creation of Allah: the sun, the moon, stars, heavens, mountains, rivers, oceans, plants — all of this is mentioned in the Qur'an. Why is Allah talking about all of these things? To draw our attention to His creation, because His creation is a mirror of His abilities. The creation of Allah is a mirror of the attributes of Allah. If you want to learn about the greatness of Allah, look at His creation. If you want to learn about the wisdom of Allah, look at His creation. If you want to learn about the knowledge of Allah, look at His creation. Basically, if you want to learn about all of the names of Allah (swt), you'll find some reflection of them in the creation of Allah. So when we want to learn about Allah, all we have to do is look at His creation — that is how we can learn the greatness of Allah. A shepherd spends a lot of time close to nature, and that gives them a chance to contemplate. Not every shepherd will take advantage of that, but the opportunity is given, and the prophets of Allah took advantage of that opportunity. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would spend time thinking about the creation of Allah, wondering about it. So these are some lessons — there are others — some lessons to be learned from being shepherds.