Unlike many other respected poets of the day such as Ibn Sana al-Mulk, Ibn Unayn, Baha al-Din Zuhayr and Ibn Matruh, Ibn al-Farid refused the patronage of wealthy governmental figures which would have required him to produce poetry for propaganda, preferring the relatively humble life of a teacher that allowed him to compose his poetry of enlightenment unhampered. One time al-Malik al-Kamil, who was the Ayyubid sultan at that time, liked some of his odes so much that he sent the poet an exorbitant amount of money and offered to build a shrine for him. Ibn al-Farid declined both the money and the offer of the shrine, choosing to trust in God to supply for his needs. His position as a teacher at the Al-Azhar Mosque allowed him to provide for his family, which included three children.