Kindness to slaves

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever buys one of the servants, and then the habits and traits of that servant do not agree with the temperament and nature of that master, let him sell him and buy another, until his traits agree with his temperament; for people's temperaments and natures differ. And do not cause pain and harm to a servant of Allah (because of a mismatch of temperament)."
Isa bin Yunus narrated the like of it from Abu Bakr bin Abi Maryam with this same chain; however, he did not narrate it as marfu'.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Fear Allah, fear Allah, regarding those under your authority (your slaves and servants): fill their stomachs (that is, feed them until they are full), clothe their bodies, and be gentle with them in speech."
Abu Ya'la narrated it in his Musnad. Its chain has weakness on account of the narrators Ali bin Yazid al-Alhani and Ubaydullah bin Zahr; however, other supporting narrations of the hadith are found in the books of Sunan.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The first to enter Paradise will be the slave who carried out the worship and obedience of Allah Almighty and also obeyed and followed his (worldly) master."
Ahmad bin Mani' narrated it. Its chain contains Sadaqah bin Musa and Farqad al-Sabakhi, who are da'if (weak) narrators; however, the virtues of the slave who fulfils the rights of both Allah and his master, and his receiving a double reward, are supported by other sahih hadith.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Jibril (peace be upon him) kept urging me so persistently about slaves (their rights and good treatment) that I began to think he would fix for them some definite limit or term such that, when they reached it (that stage or age), they would become free (by themselves)."
Musnad Ahmad: 2833. Allamah Shu'ayb al-Arna'ut graded it sahih li-ghayrihi (authentic due to supporting narrations) on the basis of supporting reports, because one narrator in its chain is unnamed.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Amr bin Hurayth (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whatever you lighten and reduce of the burden of your servant's work will be a cause of reward for you in your scale (of deeds) (on the Day of Resurrection)."
The chain of this hadith is hasan (good). Abd bin Humayd narrated it in his Musnad (hadith no. 2834), and it is an authentic virtue encouraging gentleness and compassion towards subordinates.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave Sayyiduna Ali and Sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with them both) a slave and said (advising them): "Both of you treat him with kindness and good conduct, for I have seen him performing the prayer."
And Abu Ya'la (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Abu Bakr narrated this hadith to us with this same chain and text.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said concerning the slaves and servants under one's authority: "Treat them with the same honour and respect with which you treat your own children, feed them from what you yourselves eat, and clothe them as you yourselves are clothed."
[Sunan Ibn Majah: 3692, Musnad Ahmad: 72. Its chain contains Farqad al-Sabakhi, who is da'if (weak); however, supporting narrations for it are found in other books of hadith.]