They asked, “And you as well, O Messenger of Allah?” He answered, “Yes. I used to herd them for the people of Mecca for a few qirāṭs.” Reported by al-Bukhārī.

Abū Salamah also transmitted from Jābir, who said: “We were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ at Marr az-Zahrān gathering kabāth (the berries of the arāk tree). He said, ‘Choose the black ones, for they are the tastiest.’ We asked, ‘Did you herd sheep, O Messenger of Allah?’ He replied, ‘Yes—and what prophet ever failed to herd them?’” Agreed upon.

His journey with his uncle—if the report is authentic:

Qurād Abū Nūḥ related: Yūnus ibn Abī Isḥāq told us, from Abū Bakr ibn Abī Mūsā al-Ashʿarī, from his father, who said: “Abū Ṭālib set out for Syria with Muḥammad ﷺ and some elders of Quraysh. When they came within sight of the monk, they dismounted, and he came out to them, though formerly he never did so. He walked among them as they were unloading their packs until he took him ﷺ by the hand and said, ‘This is the master of all beings; this is the Messenger of the Lord of all beings; Allah will send him as a mercy to the worlds.’

“The elders of Quraysh asked, ‘How do you know this?’ He replied, ‘When you emerged from the pass, not a tree or a stone was left without falling in prostration, and they prostrate only to a prophet. I also know him by the seal of prophethood beneath the arṣuf of his shoulder; it is the size of an apple.’

“He then went back and prepared food for them. When he brought it, the Prophet ﷺ was tending the camels, so they sent for him. He came, a cloud shading him, and when he approached the group he found that they had already reached it—that is, the shade of a tree—so when…"