He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked:

A debtor drew up a written declaration of his insolvency, and witnesses testified that he was unable to repay the debt he owed, without its amount being specified. Is this sufficient? If the witness specifies the amount, must he add, “nor any part of it”? If he does say this, does that include three dirhams, or one and a half dirhams?

He replied:

As for testimony to insolvency, if the witnesses testify that he is unable to repay the debt he owes, and they know its amount, their testimony is valid. However, this does not rule out his ability to repay part of it. Such testimony is also valid even if they do not know the amount, provided they testify that he is unable to repay anything at all. Yet knowledge of this is generally unattainable.

However, if the debt arose from a transaction involving an exchange—such as the price owed for a sale or repayment of a loan—and he had known assets, then, if the witnesses testify that his assets are gone, he is treated like someone not known to possess any assets. In such a case, his word is accepted, supported by his oath that he is insolvent and unable to repay the amount to which his oath relates. If he claims to be unable to repay any amount, small or large, he swears to that, and the intended purpose is thereby achieved. If he claims that he possesses only such-and-such an amount, he swears to that.

According to one of the two positions in the school of Ahmad and others, the witnesses testifying to his insolvency must number three if he had assets, on account of the transmitted report concerning this, unlike when the testimony establishes