And Shaykh al-Islām—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—said:

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People have frequently disputed which is better: the patient poor person or the grateful wealthy person. Much of their discussion of this question is tainted by some degree of personal bias or lack of knowledge. The dispute involves jurists, Sufis, ordinary people, leaders, and others.

In his al-Tamām (Supplement) to his father’s Book of the Two Reports and the Two Views, al-Qādī Abū al-Husayn ibn al-Qādī Abū Yaʿlā mentioned two positions reported from Ahmad on this question. According to the first, the patient poor person is better. This position is said to have been adopted by Abū Ishāq ibn Shāqlā and by Abū al-Husayn’s father, al-Qādī Abū Yaʿlā; Abū al-Husayn himself argued in its favour.

According to the second, the grateful wealthy person is better. A number of scholars adopted this position, including Ibn Qutaybah. The first view is favoured by many people of spiritual knowledge and jurisprudence