Chapter: "Chapter on Sealing a Servant's Possessions for Fear of Bad Suspicion" Explanation of the report of Abu al-'Aliyyah (may Allah have mercy on him): (We were commanded to seal the servant's [possessions], and to measure [them])

The Shaykh : We interpret that the one giving the command was a Companion from among the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Here, the one who says: is Abu al-'Aliyyah. Abu al-'Aliyyah is a well-known and famous Tabi'i (successor). So, when he said "We were commanded" in the passive voice, it is interpreted to mean that the one giving the command was one of the Companions of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
So, Abu al-'Aliyyah, the one who said this, means that the Companions of the Prophet, or some of them, commanded us to seal the servant's [possessions]. It appears, and Allah knows best, that the intended meaning of this sealing is that the master in that era, if he gave a bag containing money to the servant, would seal it so that the servant would not be tempted to open it and take something from what was inside. This is the meaning of their saying: And this meaning is confirmed by his saying: meaning, if we gave him wheat and told him to go down to the market and sell it, we would give it to him by measure, not relying on him to give it to him casually based on trust in him. No, rather we would take precautions and give him the grain that we hand over to him measured, meaning its weight or measure is known. And similarly, his saying later "and we count it"—the pronoun refers, and Allah knows best, to the money. So these are three things that the Companions of the Prophet commanded the masters to take precautions regarding with their servants. If they handed over a bag containing money, they would seal the bag so that it would not be opened, and this servant would hand the bag over to the one ordered to receive it. And if they handed over wheat to the servant, they would measure it so that they would be clear about what they had handed over to him. And similarly, if they handed over money to him, they would count it for him so that they would be certain of its number. Why did they command these three things? He said: "Out of dislike that they might become accustomed to bad character, or that one of us might suspect them of bad character" The Companions of the Prophet commanded the masters to behave in this manner with the servant. If they handed over a bag containing money, they would seal the bag so that it would not be opened, and this servant would hand the bag over to the one ordered to receive it. And if they handed over wheat to the servant, they would measure it so that they would be clear about what they had handed over to him. The money is such that people know its value, so when they handed over money to the slave, they would count it and measure it. Why? So that the servant would not be tempted by this money and steal some of it. And of course, the servant is only able to do this when he knows that his master has trusted him. "Take the wheat and go down to the market with it. How much is its measure? How much is its weight? The master did not measure it or weigh it." So he will be tempted to take a share of it and sell the rest, saying, "This is what we sold, for example." Similarly, the bag containing money, if the master did not count it, the servant would take some of it and hand over the rest. And if the money was given to him in a lump, as they say, the servant might be tempted to take some of it. So, in order for the servant not to become accustomed to a bad habit, and in order for him not to develop bad character, they were meticulous with him and apportioned his share, measuring and counting and sealing. This is the first reason: that the servant not become accustomed to bad character.
The second thing is that the master not have a bad opinion of his servant. Because by measuring, counting, and sealing, the master blocks the path for himself to have a bad opinion of his servant. Because if he gave him ten, he would know that he gave him ten, and the servant would not be able to take anything from it, so he would not be able to have a bad opinion of him. This is, in reality, one of the etiquettes related to masters and servants and slaves.
But this etiquette can be transferred from this field to another field, which is the field of a father with his son, or a mother with her son. If one fears that the son might develop bad character by taking from the money handed to him by his father or mother to buy some necessities, he should not let him become accustomed to this habit. He should hand the money to him counted and calculated for him, so that he does not practice any kind of embezzlement or theft or the like. This is what we benefit from today. Otherwise, the matter of slaves has disappeared, and servants from among free people who serve in houses are few.
Because the slaves at that time had the status of mixing with the household members, as if they were a child of the household. And for that reason, the wisdom of legislation and its ease required that the slave be with his mistress as a son is with his mother. Meaning, it is permissible for the slave to see the hair, neck, and arms of his mistress, as if he were a son from her womb. Why? Because of the extensive mixing. This is regarding the slaves.
As for the servants, no, he is a non-mahram. Therefore, slaves today do not exist, so such an etiquette does not apply, or as it is said today, it is not relevant. But if we transfer it to our dealings with our children, we take from it, I mean from this chapter, the etiquette mentioned in it regarding precaution in dealing with children, so that we do not discipline them, we do not allow them to develop bad character, and we do not allow ourselves to have a bad opinion of any of them.