Al-Matalib al-'Aliyah 2123 — The minister, and the minister rejecting

It is narrated from Abidah (may Allah have mercy on him) that Uyaynah bin Hisn and al-Aqra' bin Habis (may Allah be pleased with them both) came to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "O Khalifah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! We have a salty (barren) piece of land in which no fodder grows and which has no benefit; if you see fit, grant it to us as a land grant." The narrator says: Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) allotted that land to the two of them and wrote a document for them, and named Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) as a witness to it, although he was not present there at the time. Then the two of them went to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) to make him a witness. When Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) heard the content of the document, he took it from their hands, then spat on it and erased it, at which the two of them became very angry and spoke ill of him. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Indeed, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to win people's hearts (ta'lif al-qalb) when Islam's numbers were few in those days, but now Allah Almighty has granted Islam dominance and honour. So go, both of you, and exert yourselves against me as much as you wish. May Allah never show you kindness if I show you any consideration (against the truth)."
Imam Abu Bakr bin Abi Shaybah (may Allah have mercy on him) says: Abd al-Rahman bin Muhammad al-Muharibi narrated this narration to us from Hajjaj bin Dinar, he from Ibn Sirin, and he from Abidah.