It is valid, and he would be acknowledging two dirhams, because he excepted two dirhams [from three] (17), so one dirham remains as an exception from the acknowledgment, and the exception of the majority is valid according to them (18). The Qadi agreed with them on this view. If he says, "Three, except three, except one dirham," the whole exception is void. The same applies according to the view of the followers of al-Shafi'i as in the case before it.

Section: If he says, "He has one thousand dirhams against me, except fifty," then the thing excepted is dirhams, because the Arabs do not make an exception in an affirmative statement except from the [same] genus. If he says, "He has one thousand against me, except fifty dirhams," then all of it is dirhams as well. This is the choice of Ibn Hamid and the Qadi, and it is the view of Abu Thawr. Abu al-Hasan al-Tamimi and Abu al-Khattab said: The thousand remains ambiguous, and it is referred back to him for its interpretation. This is the view of Malik and al-Shafi'i, because according to them, an exception is valid even from a different genus, and because his wording in the "thousand" is ambiguous, and the "dirham" (20) was not mentioned as an interpretation for it, so it remains upon its ambiguity. Our argument is that it has not been reported from the Arabs to make an exception in an affirmative statement except from the same genus. Thus, whenever one of the two ends is known, it is known that the other is of its genus, just as if the thing excepted from was known, and they have conceded this. Its reasoning is the interdependence of the exception and the thing excepted from in genus, so what is established in one of them is established in the other. Therefore, according to the view of al-Tamimi [and Abu al-Khattab] (21), he is asked about the thing excepted from (19); if he interprets it as something of a different genus, the exception is void. According to the view of others, one looks at the thing excepted; if it is like the thing excepted from or more, it is void; otherwise, it is valid. [According to the Qadi, the exception is valid, and the interpretation of the thousand as anything is valid, provided it is from the value of that thing, after excepting the dirhams from it] (23).