What is the implication of an unqualified admission of debt in Dirhams (silver coins)?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Acknowledgment of Rights
Primary text
When a person admits a debt of Dirhams without qualification, the admission necessitates the payment of sound, full Dirhams, which are the Dirhams of Islam. Ten such Dirhams must weigh seven mithqals, and each Dirham must be six *dawanq*. This debt is due immediately (*halah*) and must be of good quality (*jiad*), mirroring the ruling if one sells something for ten Dirhams without qualification. This ruling becomes fixed if the debtor remains silent during a period allowing for speech, or begins speaking about an unrelated matter. If the debtor subsequently qualifies the admission by stating they are counterfeit (*zuyuf*), small (*sighar*), or payable after a month (*ila shahr*), the qualification is not accepted because it constitutes a return from part of the admission through separate speech, analogous to a detached exception.
Supporting text
The view of Imam Abu Hanifa is that the qualification regarding usufruct (*ghasb*) or deposit (*wadi'ah*) is accepted because admitting to an act concerning a physical object does not necessitate its perfection, similar to admitting the seizure of a slave who is later presented flawed. The prevailing proof is that the unqualified name implies the standard, sound weight, and thus, interpretation contradicting this is rejected, unlike the slave, as a flaw does not negate the name 'slave'. If the qualification is made in immediately connected speech, or if silence was for taking a breath, or interrupted by a cough, the qualification is accepted. Some scholars suggest that specifying a deferred term (*ta'jil*) is never accepted, similar to saying, "I owe you Dirhams which I have already paid." Some Shafi'i scholars reject qualification concerning deficient weight (*naqisah*). The view of Al-Qadi is that if one says, "I owe ten deficient Dirhams," it is accepted, and similarly if one says, "small Dirhams," if such coins are known to exist. If not, the obligation defaults to the standard weight, similar to saying "durayhim" (a diminutive form), which mandates a standard Dirham. This latter position is held by Ibn al-Qass among the Shafi'is. The proof for accepting qualification in connected speech is that Dirhams can refer to standard, deficient, counterfeit, or good quality coins, and the debt's timing can be immediate or deferred. Thus, specifying the quality restricts the general term, similar to specifying the price.