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Your slaves are your brethren
Narrated Al-Ma'rur ibn Suwaid may Allah be pleased with them:
I saw Abu Dhar Al-Ghifari wearing a cloak, and his slave, too, was wearing a cloak. We asked him about that (i.e. how both were wearing similar cloaks). He replied, "Once I abused a man and he complained of me to the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked me, 'Did you abuse him by slighting his mother?' He added, 'Your slaves are your brethren upon whom Allah has given you authority. So, if one has his brethren under his control, he should feed them with the like of what he eats and clothe them with the like of what he wears. You should not overburden them with what they cannot bear, and if you do so, help them (in their hard job).
The Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, clearly stated that your servants are your brothers. This Hadith stresses on proving the brotherhood to them; because the presence of the servants beside their masters is not less than relative brotherhood at all if faith is the is the basis of it.
The servant may be more beneficial to his master than his sibling. As the Arabic saying goes :"perhaps you would have a brother to whom your mother did not give birth".
Allah has confirmed the brotherhood of faith in many Quranic verses, such as the saying of the Almighty (interpretation of the meaning):
{And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you - when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, brothers.} Quran (3:104 )
Let the master be compassionate with his servants, appreciating their feelings, taking into account their circumstances and the extent of their needs and their aspiration to what he enjoys of the life pleasures.
If he gave the servant anything from these pleasures, his heart may be purified from jealousy, hatred, envy, humiliation, and deprivation. Moreover, he would feel that he is a member of the family, be keen to perform his duty according to the way his master likes, be careful about his interests. Yet if he failed to do so, he would apologize to him.
The servant obeys you as much as you give him, and is keen on your interests as much as you are keen on his dignity as a human.
It is either to be honest or to be a traitor, the honest servant must be honored and rewarded, and the traitor must be expelled.
If you honored him, you win his feelings and make him obedient to you, friendly to your family, loving you whether in your presence and in your absence, unlike the wicked, even if you gave him, he would not thank you.
We have the best role model in the Messenger of Allah, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, he was pleased to share the house work with his women and servants; he used to sew his dress, mend his shoes, and so on.
As well he used to cooperate with his companions may Allah be pleased with them.
