in their midst a thousand years except fifty years" (17). And He said: "So the angels prostrated, all of them entirely, except Iblis" (18). The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said regarding the martyr: "All his sins will be expiated except debt" (19). This is frequent in the Book and the Sunnah, and in all the speech of the Arabs. Thus, if one acknowledges something and makes an exception from it, he is an acknowledger of the remainder after the exception. If he says: "I owe him a hundred except ten," he is an acknowledger of ninety; because the exception prevents the entry into the expression of that which, if not for it, would have entered, for if it had entered, it would not (20) have been possible to exclude it, and if he had acknowledged the ten excluded, his denial of them would not have been accepted from him. The saying of Allah the Almighty: "So he remained among them a thousand years except fifty years," is an informing of nine hundred and fifty. The exception clarifies that the fifty excepted are not intended, just as specification clarifies that the specified is not intended by the general expression. If he says: ["This house is for Zayd (21) except this room," he is an acknowledger of what is besides the room of it. Likewise, if he says] (22): "except a third of it," or "a quarter of it," it is valid, and he is an acknowledger of the remainder after the exception. Likewise, if he says: "This house is his, and this room is mine," it is also valid; because it is in the meaning of an exception, due to his having removed some of what was included in the first expression through connected speech. If he says: "These slaves are for him, except this one," it is valid, and he is an acknowledger of whoever is other than him among them. If he says: "except one," it is valid; because an acknowledgment is valid even if vague, and therefore the exception from it is also [valid], and reference is made regarding...