What is the liability when a debtor states, 'I owe you one dirham, but rather two dirhams'?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Acknowledgment of Rights
Primary text
When a person declares, 'I owe you one dirham, but rather two dirhams' (lahu 'alayya dirhamun bal dirhamān), or 'one dirham, but two dirhams' (dirhamun lakin dirhamān), two dirhams are obligatory upon him. This view is held by Al-Shafi'i. The reasoning is that 'bal' (rather/but) serves to negate the sufficiency of the first amount and establish an increase upon it, similar to saying, 'I owe one dirham, but more.' Therefore, the greater amount stated after negation is obligatory. This is supported by the principle that the negation only denies sufficiency of the lesser amount.
Supporting text
Zafar and Dawud hold that three dirhams are obligatory. They interpret 'bal' as complete retraction (idrab), meaning the debtor cannot retract what he has already admitted, and thus both the initial one dirham and the subsequent two dirhams become due.