Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: A black man used to come to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him); he was a good reciter of the Qur'an. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) sent him with a military detachment and enjoined good treatment for him. Only a little time had passed when the man returned with his hand cut off. When Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) saw this, tears flowed from his eyes, and he asked: "What has happened to you?" He said: "He appointed me over some of his work. I committed a small breach of trust in it, so my hand was cut off." Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Your hand was cut off for one breach of trust, while he himself commits twenty breaches! If you are truthful in what you say, I will certainly get retaliation for you from him." Then he became close to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), and his standing in his eyes did not diminish at all. The man used to stand at night in prayer and recite the Qur'an. When Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) heard his recitation, he would say: "Alas! This man's hand was cut off." Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Only a little time had passed when some jewellery and goods were stolen from the house of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The household was raided (by a thief) last night." Then that man stood up, raised his sound hand and his severed hand, and began to supplicate: "O Allah! Expose the thief." Half the day had not yet passed when the goods were found with him. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Woe to you! Is your knowledge of Allah so little?" He gave the order, and his foot was cut off.
Ma'mar said: Ayyub narrated to me through the route of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that when Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) heard his voice, he said: "Your night is not the night of a thief." The point of evidence in this hadith is that he said: "If you are truthful in what you say, I will get retaliation for you."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الجنايات / 16024