Hadith: Then do not make me a witness to this, for, indeed, I do not bear witness to injustice

عن النعمان بن بشير رضي الله عنهما قال: تصدق علي أبي ببعض ماله، فقالت أمي عَمْرَة بنت رَوَاحَة: لا أرضى حتى تشهد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فانطلق أبي إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ليُشْهِد على صدقتي فقال له رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : أفعلت هذا بولدك كلهم؟ قال: لا، قال: «اتقوا الله واعدلوا في أولادكم، فرجع أبي، فرد تلك الصدقة». وفي لفظ: «فلا تُشْهدني إذًا؛ فإني لا أشهد على جَوْرٍ». وفي لفظ: «فأشهد على هذا غيري».
[صحيح] - [متفق عليه، وله ألفاظ عديدة]

An-Nu‘mān ibn Bashīr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: My father gave me some of his property as a gift. My mother ‘Amrah bint Rawāha said: I shall not be satisfied until you make the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) a witness to it. My father went to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in order to make him witness to the gift he has given me. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) asked him: "Have you done the same with all your children?" He said: 'No.' Thereupon, he said: "Fear Allah, and be just regarding your children." So my father returned and took back the gift. According to another wording, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then do not make me a witness to this, for, indeed, I do not bear witness to injustice." According to a third wording, he said: "Then let someone other than me be a witness to this."
[Authentic hadith] - [Al-Bukhari and Muslim with multiple versions]

Explanation

An-Nu‘mān ibn Bashīr al-Ansāri (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned that his father gave to him an exclusive gift from his property. His mother wanted to sanction the gift by making the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) a witness to it. So, his father took him to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) to let him bear witness to it. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) asked him: "Did you give the same gift to all your children?" He said: 'No.' Giving some of the children gifts to the exclusion of the others, or preferring some of them over the others is an act that contradicts piety. In fact, it constitutes a form of injustice and wrongdoing, because of the evil consequences involved. Normally, this act causes the other children to forsake their father and keep away from him, and it sows seeds of hatred and enmity towards their favored siblings. For these reasons as well as others, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "Fear Allah and be just regarding your children, and do not ask me to bear witness to an act of injustice and wrongdoing." He reprimanded him and deterred him from doing such an act by saying to him: "Let someone other than me be a witness to this." So, Bashīr immediately took back that gift, as was the habit of the noble companions in abiding by the limits set by Allah.