The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) never struck anything with his hand, neither a woman nor a servant, except when he was fighting in the cause of Allah
Authentic hadithعن عائشة رضي الله عنها مرفوعاً: «ما ضرب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم شيئا قَطُّ بيده، ولا امرأة ولا خادما، إلا أن يجاهد في سبيل الله، وما نيِل منه شيء قَطُّ فينتقم من صاحبه، إلا أن ينتهك شيء من محارم الله تعالى، فينتقم لله تعالى».
‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) never struck anything with his hand, neither a woman nor a servant, except when he was fighting in the cause of Allah. He would never avenge himself concerning anything that was done to him except if the limits of Allah, the Almighty, were transgressed. Then (in that case) he would seek revenge for the sake of Allah, the Almighty.
Explanation
One of the morals of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was that he never hit an animal or other creature, and he neither hit a woman nor a servant though it was common practice to hit them. Since he never hit these two despite the common practice, he did not hit any other creature whom it was not common to hit with greater reason. The exception was when he would fight in the cause of Allah to raise the word of Allah high. He also never sought vengeance for harm that was inflicted upon him, such as the incident in the battle of Uhud, when the disbelievers injured his head and broke one of his front teeth, and other acts of aggression and assault on their part. He used to pardon, forgive, and show forbearance. He did not seek vengeance except when the limits of Allah were transgressed, as he never approved of any such act from anyone.
Source · Narrated by Muslim
From the Hadith Encyclopedia (hadeethenc.com).