We explain that the one giving the order is a Companion from among the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and here the one who says

The Shaykh: We explain that the one giving the order is a Companion from among the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and here the one who says: is Abu al-‘Aliyah, and Abu al-‘Aliyah is a well-known and famous Tabi‘i. So when he said, “We were ordered,” in the passive voice, it is explained that the one giving the order is one of the Companions of the Messenger (peace be upon him). So he is saying that Abu al-‘Aliyah, the one who said, “The Companions of the Prophet, or some of them, used to order us to seal the servant’s [bag].” 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 in it. 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; we would not rely on him giving it to us arbitrarily based on trust in him. No, rather we would take precautions and give him the grain that we deliver to him measured, meaning its weight or measure is known. And likewise 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 ordered the masters to take precautions regarding with their servants. If they delivered a bag containing money, they would seal the bag so that it would not be opened, and they would deliver this servant’s bag to the one ordered to receive it. And if they delivered wheat to the servant, they would measure it so that they would be aware of what they delivered to him. And if they delivered money to him, they would count it for him so that they would be certain of its number. Why did they order these three things? He said: “Out of dislike for them to become accustomed to a bad habit, or for one of us to suspect someone of a bad intention.” The Companions of the Prophet ordered the masters to behave in this manner with the servant. If they delivered a bag containing money, they would seal the bag so that it would not be opened, and they would deliver this servant’s bag to the one ordered to receive it. And if they delivered wheat to the servant, they would measure it so that they would be aware of what they delivered to him. The money that is displayed, people know its value. So when they delivered money to the slave, they would count it and measure it. Why? So that the servant would not be tempted with this money and steal some of it. And this, of course, is only possible for the servant when he knows that his master has trusted him. “Take the wheat, go, 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 is tempted to take a share of it and sell the rest, saying, “This is what we sold, for example.” Likewise, the bag containing money, if the master did not count it, the servant takes something from it and delivers the rest. And the money, if he gave it to him like 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 not to develop a bad character, they were precise with him and apportioned it to him, measuring and counting and sealing. This is the first reason, which is that the servant not become accustomed to a bad habit.
The second thing is that the master not have a bad opinion of his servant, because by the method of 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 knows he gave him ten, and he cannot take anything from it, so he will not be able to have a bad opinion of him. This is, in reality, one of the etiquettes related to masters with 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 will develop a bad habit, taking from the money delivered to him by his father or mother to buy some necessities, he should not let him become accustomed to this habit, and should deliver 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 the free people who serve in houses are few. Because the slaves at that time had the ruling of mixing with the household, 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, the 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, at that time, I mean this chapter, the etiquette mentioned in it of precaution in dealing with children, such that we do not discipline them, we do not allow them to develop a bad habit, and we do not allow ourselves to have a bad opinion of any of them.