6. A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn abu ‘Abd Allah from his father from those whom he has mentioned (in his book) from al-Husayn ibn abu al-‘Ala’ who has said the following:

“Abu ‘Abd Allah , has said, ‘Allah grants mercy to one of His servants who has maintained chastity, continues to do so, and abstains from asking (people) for a favor; doing so brings lowliness for one in this world quickly, and people cannot make him self-sufficient.’ Abu ‘Abd Allah , then mentioned a line of the poems of Hatim (a famous generous person) as an example: ‘Once I understood “giving up all hope” properly, I found it to be self-sufficiency and wealth when the soul also understood it as well; (it ) found that greed is not anything other than poverty.’”