Whose testimony prevails if the pledgor and pawnee disagree on the amount of the debt secured by the pledge?

Primary text

If the disagreement concerns the debt amount—for instance, the pledgor states the pledge secured one thousand, and the pawnee claims two thousand—the statement of the pledgor prevails. This is the view of Al-Nakha'i, Al-Thawri, Al-Shafi'i, Al-Batti, Abu Thawr, and the People of Opinion (*Ahl al-Ra'y*). The basis for this is that the pledgor denies the excess claimed by the pawnee, and the statement of the denier is accepted, supported by the Hadith: 'If people were given according to their claims, a group would claim the blood of men and their properties, but the oath lies upon the defendant.' Furthermore, the default is the exoneration of liability for the excess amount claimed.