The buyer, and the statement is that of the denier. Al-Sha'bi said: The statement is that of the seller, or they shall rescind the sale. Ibn al-Mundhir narrated this from our Imam, may Allah have mercy on him, because Ibn Mas'ud narrated from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, that he said: "If the two parties to a sale disagree, and there is no evidence between them, then the statement is what the seller says, or they shall rescind the sale." Narrated by Sa'id, Ibn Majah, and others. The famous position in the school is the first one. It is possible that the meaning of the two statements is one, and that the statement is that of the seller with his oath; so if he swears and the buyer is satisfied with that, he takes it; and if he refuses, he [the buyer] also swears, and the sale is rescinded between them, because in some versions of the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud, the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "If the two parties to a sale disagree while the item is still in existence, and neither of them has evidence, they shall perform mutual swearing (tahaluf)." This is because each one of them is both a claimant and a respondent. The seller claims a contract for twenty, which the buyer denies, and the buyer claims a contract for ten, which the seller denies, and a contract for ten is not the same as a contract for twenty; thus, the oath was legislated for both of them, and this is the answer to what they mentioned.

Second section: The one who initiates the oath is the seller. He swears: "I did not sell it for ten, and I only sold it for twenty." If the buyer wishes, he takes it for what the seller said; otherwise, he swears: "I did not buy it for twenty, and I only bought it for ten." This is the view of al-Shafi'i. Abu Hanifah said: The buyer initiates the oath because he is the denier, the oath is stronger on his side, and judgment is passed by his refusal (nukul) and the ruling is concluded, and that which is closer to resolving the dispute is more appropriate. Our evidence is the statement of the Prophet...