Our beloved Prophet (SAW) remarks in a hadith:
“Each one of you is a shepherd and answerable for the flock in his charge. The ruler of a people is a shepherd and answerable for (his duties towards) his people. Similarly the head of a family is (like) a shepherd to his family and accountable for this.” (Bukhari)
Word ‘shepherd’ used in the translation is a literal rendering of the Arabic word ra‘. This word is very familiar to all religious contexts of the world. The Bible uses it for the loving, caring attitude of the priest towards the people for whose spiritual and moral edification he is always responsible. Most of the great religious teachers of the world tended flocks at one or the other stage of their lives. This was perhaps an essential part of their training to play the role of affectionate shepherds for their people. Moses tended flocks, our own beloved Prophet (SAW) did it at a very formative stage of his life. He also remarked in this context that “Allah has not raised any prophet who did not tend cattle.” (Bukhari). Iqbal’s extraordinarily perceptive imagination saw the mutual relationship of the shepherd’s calling and the prophet’s parent-like care of his people. In one of his rubaiat he says:

Dam-e ‘aarif naseem-e subh-dam hai
Isi sey rishai-e m‘ani main nam hai
Agar koie Shuaib aayey moyessar
Shabani sey Kaleemi do qadam hai

The breath of the gnostic is like to the morning breeze;
This is the source of sap to the root of meaning:
If a guide like Jethro is available,
It is just two steps between Shepherding and Kaleemi.
Moses (Musa A.S) after his flight from Egypt, came, according to Divine plan, under the guidance and training of Hazrat Shuaib (AS) whom the Bible calls Jethro, the priest of Midian. He tended Hazrat Shuaib’s cattle for a time, receiving at the same time, spiritual guidance from him. It was only after this training that he was charged with prophetic mission on his way back to Egypt.
For us playing the shepherd to those in our charge is our duty ascribed with the Prophet (SAW) himself but as we examine ourselves we find ourselves grossly deficient of the spirit and attitude of a loving, caring shepherd.       

Lastupdate on : Thu, 20 Oct 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 20 Oct 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:00:00 IST