Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
The basic principle is that Allah تعالى is the true Patron and Bestower of blessings upon His servants. He is the One who creates blessings, bestows them upon His creation, provides them with them, and delivers them to them through His grace and mercy, without them having any inherent entitlement to them.
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
“All good belongs to Allah, is in His hands, is through Him, and comes from Him. He is the Patron of His blessing and the One who initiates it without any entitlement on the part of the recipient, and He causes it to reach him despite the servant’s turning away from Him, heedlessness, and disobedience.”
Thus, Allah سبحانه وتعالى is the true Bestower, and every blessing that reaches a servant is from His grace and generosity.
Yes. There appears to be no problem in using this expression for some created beings if what is intended is that they are a means through which a blessing or favor reaches someone else, while believing that the blessing in its origin comes from Allah تعالى.
Allah may give one of His servants wealth, ability, or status and then make that person a means of benefiting another person—for example, by helping him financially, relieving him from hardship, freeing him from slavery, or doing him a favor.
Here, two matters should be distinguished:
Therefore, it may be said of a person who has done good to another: “He is the patron of his blessing” or “the benefactor of his blessing,” when the expression is used with this correct meaning.
The expressions “patron of the blessing” and “benefactor of the blessing” were used in the writings of scholars. Among the well-known examples is what al-Bayhaqi reported from Hudhayl ibn Shurahbil: a man freed a slave he owned, then the freedman died and left behind property. ʿAbdullah ibn Masʿud, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
“You are his heir and the patron of his blessing.”
The basic story is reported in Sahih al-Bukhari.
Al-Qadi ʿIyad, may Allah have mercy on him, also said:
“The benefactor of the blessing is the person who emancipates a slave.”
Al-Jassas, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
“The mawla is the emancipator, because he is the patron of the blessing involved in the emancipation; for this reason he is called the patron of the blessing.”
This indicates that using “patron of the blessing” for a created being was known in religious and linguistic usage and was not restricted to Allah تعالى.
The linguists also mentioned this usage. Ibn Manzur, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
“The mawla is the patron of the blessing, meaning the emancipator, who bestowed a favor upon his servant by freeing him.”
It is permissible when the intended meaning is the favor and kindness shown by that person, while believing that Allah تعالى is the true Bestower and that the created being is merely a means through which goodness reaches another person.
However, if using this expression leads to exaggeration regarding the created being, or suggests that he independently possesses the blessing, or that he independently controls benefit and harm, then it should be avoided in order to prevent exaggeration and close the means that may lead to it.
Accordingly, saying about someone who has done a favor to a person, “So-and-so is the patron of my blessing,” does not appear to be inherently objectionable, as long as what is intended is that he has shown him favor and kindness, and not that he is the true Bestower independently of Allah تعالى.
And Allah تعالى knows best.