deficient, his statement is accepted. And if he says, "Small" [and people have small dirhams, his statement is also accepted. And if he does not have small dirhams], he is bound by full-weight ones, just as if he said, "A dirham (durayhim)", he is bound by a full-weight dirham. This is the opinion of Ibn al-Qass from the companions of al-Shafi'i. Our position is that he has explained his statement in a way that it permits within connected speech, so it is accepted from him, like the exception of a portion. This is because the term "dirhams" can refer to full-weight, deficient, counterfeit, and high-quality [coins], and their being owed by him permits both immediate and deferred payment. So, when he describes them as such, they become restricted by it, just as if he described the price as such, saying, "I sold it to you for ten dirhams, deferred and deficient." Their establishment under a different description in the case of an absolute acknowledgment does not prevent the validity of qualifying them as such, similar to the price. Their assertion that deferment prevents the fulfilling of the right is incorrect; it merely delays it, so it resembles a deferred price. This is confirmed by the fact that dirhams are established in the liability under these descriptions. If they are established with this description, the purified Shari'a does not necessitate closing the door to acknowledging them according to their description. According to what they mentioned, there is no way for him to acknowledge them except in a manner where he is taken to account for something other than what is obligatory upon him, which would corrupt the subject of acknowledgment. The statement of those who said that his saying, "Small," refers to the measurement, is invalid because the surface area of dirhams is not considered in the Shari'a, nor are they established in the liability based on a measured area. Rather, "smallness" and "largeness" are considered in terms of weight, so one must return to the interpretation of the acknowledger. As for his saying, "Counterfeit," and he explains it as adulterated or defective with a defect that diminishes its value, his explanation is accepted. But if he explains it as copper, lead, or something that has no value, it is not accepted, because those are not dirhams in reality, so his explanation would be a retraction of what he acknowledged, and thus it is not accepted, like the exception of the whole.

Section: If he acknowledges dirhams and speaks in absolute terms in a land where their weights are deficient, such as Tabariya, where their dirham is