Chapter: One should not say, “my slave” or “my slave-girl”

In the Ṣaḥīḥayn it is related from Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“None of you is to say, ‘Feed your lord’ or ‘Prepare ablution water for your lord.’ Instead let him say, ‘sayyidī wa mawlāy (my master and my patron).’ And none of you is to say, ‘ʿabdī or amatī (my male or female slave).’ Rather let him say, ‘fatāy, fatātī, or ghulāmī (my young man, my young woman, or my attendant).’” ⦗1⦘

Relevance of this chapter to the Book of Monotheism: using the expressions just mentioned implies a share in Lordship, so the Prophet ﷺ forbade them as a matter of courtesy toward the true Lordship and as a safeguard for monotheism by blocking the avenues that lead to shirk.

“In the Ṣaḥīḥ” means in the two canonical Ṣaḥīḥ collections.

“None of you should say” — lā here is a prohibitive particle; the verb that follows is in the jussive, meaning that one must not address his servant with these words.

“Feed your lord” — with the hamzah pronounced with a fatḥah; an imperative derived from iṭʿām (feeding).

“Prepare ablution water for your lord” — an imperative derived from tawḍīʾah (helping someone perform wuḍūʾ). The ban on these two phrases is meant to prevent any resemblance to Allah, for He alone is the Lord. This restriction applies only to attributing Lordship to a human; in other contexts the term is lawful, as in “lord of the house” or “lord of the mount.”

“Instead let him say: my master” — because sayyid conveys the sense of authority over those under one’s control.