Abd Allāh ibn ‘Abd ar-Raḥman Sirāj ( ar, عبد الله بن عبد الرحمن سراج; 1876 – May 1949) was an

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

politician and

Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of reli ...

who held various posts in the

Kingdom of Hejaz The Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz ( ar, المملكة الحجازية الهاشمية, ''Al-Mamlakah al-Ḥijāziyyah Al-Hāshimiyyah'') was a state in the Hejaz region in the Middle East that included the western portion of the Arabian Penins ...

and later the

Emirate of Transjordan The Emirate of Transjordan ( ar, إمارة شرق الأردن, Imārat Sharq al-Urdun, Emirate of East Jordan), officially known as the Amirate of Trans-Jordan, was a British protectorate established on 11 April 1921,

, including the office of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

of both countries (including being the 5th Prime Minister of Jordan). Born in

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

, he graduated from Madrasah as-Sawlatiyah and later

al-Azhar University , image = جامعة_الأزهر_بالقاهرة.jpg , image_size = 250 , caption = Al-Azhar University portal , motto = , established = *970/972 first foundat ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

. In 1907 he was appointed Mufti of the

Hanafi The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named aft ...

s in Mecca by Sharif Ali Abd Allah. He was elected to represent Mecca in the

Ottoman parliament The General Assembly ( tr, Meclis-i Umumî (French romanization: "Medjliss Oumoumi" ) or ''Genel Parlamento''; french: Assemblée Générale) was the first attempt at representative democracy by the imperial government of the Ottoman Empire. Als ...

in 1908, though he resigned before he ever served. After

Sharif Husayn Hussein bin Ali al-Hashimi ( ar, الحسين بن علي الهاشمي, al-Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī; 1 May 18544 June 1931) was an Arab leader from the Banu Hashim clan who was the Sharif and Emir of Mecca from 1908 and, after proc ...

declared independence from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in 1916, he appointed Siraj as Chief Justice and Deputy Prime Minister of the Hejaz government. Siraj served as acting Prime Minister in lieu of Emir Ali until 1918. After Husayn abdicated the throne in 1924, Siraj held the office of Prime Minister during most of Ali's short reign, which ended with the Kingdom's surrender to the Saudi

Sultanate of Nejd The Sultanate of Nejd ( ar, سلطنة نجد, ') was the third iteration of the Third Saudi State, from 1921 to 1926. It was a monarchy led by the House of Saud. This version of the Third Saudi State was created when Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, Emir ...

in 1925. He then migrated to the

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

, where under Emir Abd Allah he served as Prime Minister from 1931 to 1933 while simultaneously holding the portfolios of

Finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...

and the

Interior Ministry An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

, as well as the office of Chief Justice. Translation: PRO. FO 195/2286. Monahan to Lowther. Jidda, 15 December 1908. "He is Mufti at Mecca of the Hanafi sect, as his father was before him. His family is of Indian origin but has been residing in Mecca for more than 200 years. His father died in exile in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

about 12 years ago, having incurred the displeasure of Grand Sharif Aun ar-Rafik, which would be a fact in his favor, and he himself (he is now about 35) was living in Constantinople in fear of the Grand Sharif for more than ten years until he returned two years ago to Mecca. He appears to have a good reputation, intellectually, and morally, and knows Turkish well…" Quoted in

References

{{authority control 1870s births 1949 deaths Hanafis People from Mecca Prime Ministers of Jordan Interior ministers of Jordan Finance ministers of Jordan Jordanian judges Muftis of Mecca