Judge Shaikh Nasib Al Bitar (June 13, 1890–June 26, 1948) was a

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

jurist, born in the city of

Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

. He was the second son of

Sayyed ''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, sons of Muhammad' ...

Said Al Bitar Al Husseini.

Education

He finished his elementary education in Nablus on July 13, 1902. He completed Al Rushdieh by 1905. For his college education he started in Nablus and then went to

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 ...

for his university degree. He then went to

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

for his higher education in

Islamic Law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...

. He finished as the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

broke out.

Military career

As a new graduate he was recruited by the

Ottoman Army The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. Army The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...

sent to the Military Cadet School and graduated as an officer. He served gallantly for about four years moving up the ranks, thus got his share of the

and a medal for his honorable discharge and gallant service. He had served most of his military duty in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Career in the justice system

After the War he worked all over Palestine in Islamic Law courts, starting in

Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...

in 1921, to Jerusalem in 1923 followed by Gaza as an Islamic Judge in 1938,

Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

and

Jenin Jenin (; ar, ') is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate of the State of Palestine and is a major center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, Jenin had a population of app ...

came later in 1942 together with

Beisan Beit She'an ( he, בֵּית שְׁאָן '), also Beth-shean, formerly Beisan ( ar, بيسان ), is a town in the Northern District of Israel. The town lies at the Beit She'an Valley about 120 m (394 feet) below sea level. Beit She'an is be ...

. He then was appointed to

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

in 1944. Finally back to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

in 1946 as the Jerusalem Islamic Judge.

Judicial services

Islamic Court 11 September 1921 *

Islamic Court 27 February 1923 * Gaza Islamic Court 15 April 1938 *

and

Islamic Courts 1 January 1942 *

Islamic Court 1 January 1944 *Jerusalem Islamic Court 1 January 1946 *He died in

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

and was buried in

26 June 1948

Book

He wrote a book about the law of inheritance in Islam, first published on 30 September 1931 under the title ''Al Fareedah Fi Hisab Al Fareeddah''. When he died it was discovered that he was in the process of writing another book on the same topic in

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

, unfortunately he could not finish the manuscript. In 1986 Al Nahar Daily News Paper wrote about him quoting a paragraph from Ajjaj Nuweihed's book Men from Palestine.Men From Palestine
/ref>

Community leadership

Whenever he went to Nablus he was always invited to lead the prayers in the main

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

as a gesture of respect. He also was an expert in

Arabic calligraphy Arabic calligraphy is the artistic practice of handwriting and calligraphy based on the Arabic alphabet. It is known in Arabic as ''khatt'' ( ar, خط), derived from the word 'line', 'design', or 'construction'. Kufic is the oldest form of th ...

and sometimes gave lessons of "Al Khat Alarabi" at Al Rawdah School in Jerusalem next to the court-house. He was a member of

al-Muntada al-Adabi al-Muntada al-Adabia was an organisation set up in the last years of the Ottoman Empire to promote Arabic culture. Its publicly stated aims were non-political but it became an incubator for the growing Arab Nationalist movement. The 1908 Committee ...

. He wrote poetry but never published it, he only exchanged reciting it with his intellectual friends in his

Majlis ( ar, المجلس, pl. ') is an Arabic term meaning "sitting room", used to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups of administrative, social or religious nature in countries with linguistic or cultural conne ...

Death

One day during the

1948 War The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. It is known in Israel as the War of Independence ( he, מלחמת העצמאות, ''Milkhemet Ha'Atzma'ut'') and ...

and as a result of it, he felt a severe headache and felt very sick, and because of the war all hospitals in Palestine would not take him in. He had to be taken to the Italian Hospital in

Amman, Jordan Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 as of 2021, Amman is ...

. There he died on June 26, 1948. He was buried in Nablus his birthplace in

Life coincidences

One astonishing fact was the death of Sheik Nasib and his wife Bahija. * He died in 1948, She died in 1967, they both died during war-time. * He died on June 26, 1948; she also died on June 26, 1967. They died two wars apart. * He died at the Italian Hospital in Amman; she also died at the same hospital.