عن عائشة رضي الله عنها قالت ما ضرب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بيده شيئا قط إلا أن يجاهد في سبيل الله ولا ضرب خادما ولا امرأة (الشمائل المحمدية للترمذي، الرقم: 331)

Hazrat Aa’ishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) mentioned that apart from Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) fighting in the path of Allah Ta‘ala, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) never ever hit anything with his blessed hand (whether human or animal, to cause it pain). And Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) never (ever) hit a servant (a slave serving him or a free person) nor a woman.

Commentary:

In this Hadith, Hazrat Aa’ishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) explained the mubaarak and noble character of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) when dealing with the entire creation, whether human beings or animals.

She mentioned that apart from jihaad, which was the right of Allah Ta‘ala, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) never caused pain to any creation for his personal self. Even if pain was caused to him, he forgave the person who caused him pain and overlooked his ill treatment. In fact, after forgiving those who inflicted pain upon him, he never ever reminded them of their ill treatment, but showed them greater love, compassion and kindness.