al-Hasan accepted his gift, while Ibn Sirin refused to accept it. He said to Ibn Sirin: "Why do you not accept?" He replied: "Until it is made general for the people." Al-Hasan said: "By Allah, if a guardian who is a thief were to come to you and take my cloak and your cloak, then it occurred to him to return my cloak to me, would I say: 'I will not accept my cloak until you return Ibn Sirin's cloak to him?' I would have liked you to be more learned than you are, O Ibn Sirin." And that is because the Sultan's gifts have an aspect of permissibility and lawfulness, as he has many sources of revenue from fay' (spoils), charity, and others.

Section: Ahmad said (11): "The Sultan's gifts are more beloved to me than charity." He means that charity is the filth of people, which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his family were shielded from due to its baseness, yet they were not shielded from the Sultan's gifts. Ahmad was asked about someone who traded with the Sultan and made a profit of a thousand, and another to whom the Sultan gave a gift of a thousand—which of them is more beloved to you? He said: "The gift." This is because the one who makes a profit of a thousand on him (12) usually does not profit except through some kind of deception or severe underpricing (ghabn), whereas the gift is a grant from the Imam by his consent (13), containing no deception or underpricing. Ahmad said: "If there is a man between you and the Sultan," meaning it is more beloved to me than taking it directly from him. This is because the more intermediaries there are, the closer it becomes to the lawful, as with distance it changes, and therein occur factors that make it permissible. And Allah, Glory be to Him, knows best.