Even now daughters are considered an
unwanted burden in some societies and instead of rejoicing, an
atmosphere of grief and disappointment is produced in the family at their birth. This is the position, today, but, in the pre-Islaamic times, the daughters were positively considered a shame and disgrace among the Arabs, so much so that even the right to live was denied to them. Many a hard-hearted parent used to
strangle his daughter to death, with his own hands, when she was
born, or bury her alive. The Qur'aan states:
When if one of them receives tidings of the birth of a female, his face remains darkened, and he is wrath inwardly. He hides himself from the folk because of the evil of that whereof he has had tidings, (asking himself): Shall he keep it in contempt, or bury it beneath the dust. (16: 58-59)
Such was the attitude of the Arabs towards
daughters among whom the sacred Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam 
was raised up. Against this background, let us now examine the following Traditions.
It is related by Abdullah
Ibne Abbaas radhiyallahu anhumaa
that the Apostle of Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said: "Whoever becomes the father of a
girl, he should neither hurt her nor treat her with contempt nor show preference over her to his sons in
kindness and affection. (Both boys and girls should be treated
alike). Allah
will grant him Paradise in return for kind treatment
towards the daughter."
Ahmad, Haakeem
Aa'ishah
radhiyallahu anhaa
relates
that she heard the Apostle of Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam say: "The bondsman or bondwoman upon whom
the responsibility of daughters was placed by the Lord, (and
he/she fulfilled the responsibility in a good manner),
and treated them properly, for him/her the daughters shall be a means of protection from Hell 
."
Bukhaari, Muslim
Commentary
: to make the
observation. It is narrated that a very poor woman,
with two daughters, came to Hadhrat Aa'ishah radhiyallahu anhaa place to beg. By chance, Hadhrat Aa'ishah radhiyallahu anhaa had only one date with her,
at that time, which she gave to the woman. The woman broke the date
into two parts and gave one part each to the girls. She did not eat anything of it herself. When after sometime,
the holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam
came, Hadhrat Aa'ishah radhiyallahu anhaa related the incident to
him, upon which he remarked: "The bondsman or bondwoman upon whom there is the responsibility of daughters and he or she
discharges it well and treats them with affection, the daughters will become
for him or her a means of deliverance in the Hereafter."
In another account of Hadhrat Aa'ishah radhiyallahu anhaa of the above Tradition, quoted
by Imaam Muslim, it is stated that a poor woman came to her,
holding two little daughters in her arms, and asked for charity. Hadhrat Aa'ishah radhiyallahu anhaa gave her three dates of
which she gave one each to the two girls and was about to put the third in her own mouth that the girls asked for
it as well. The woman, thereupon, did not eat it herself, but gave
half of it to one girl and half to the other. Hadhrat Aa'ishah radhiyallahu anhaa was so strongly affected by it that she described the incident
to the sacred Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam .
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam ,
thereupon, said: "On account of this very act of the woman, Allah gave for her the decision of Paradise
and freedom from Hell ."
The two events may have taken place at different times, and it can, also, be that it was the same incident and the variation was due to the difference in the statements of the narrators.
It is related by Anas radhiyallahu anhu
that the Apostle of Allah
sallallahu alayhi wasallam said: "The bondsman who bears the responsibility of two daughters and supports them
till they attain puberty, he and I will be close to one another
like this on the Day of Requital."
The narrator Hadhrat Anas radhiyallahu anhu, adds that the Apostle
of Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam showed by joining the fingers of his hand (that as the
fingers were close to one another, in the same way the bondsman
will be close to him on the Day of final Reckoning)."
Aboo Daawood, Tirmizi
Aboo Sa'eed Khudri
radhiyallahu anhu relates that the Apostle
of Allah sallallahu alayhi
wasallam said: "Whoever
bears the responsibility of three daughters or sisters, or even of two daughters or sisters, and bears it well, and
looks after their training and welfare properly, and, then, gets
them married, Allah will reward him with Paradise."
Aboo Daawood, Tirmizi
Commentary
: has not only told that kind treatment was the natural right or
claim of the daughters, but also, that the bondsmen who fulfilled
the obligations towards them in a good and proper
manner would be rewarded with Paradise in the Hereafter. He,
further, gives the joyful tidings that such a man will be close to him, on the Day of Judgement 
, as the fingers of a hand are when joined together.