Abd Allāh ibn ‘Abd ar-Raḥman Sirāj (
Arabic: عبد الله بن عبد الرحمن سراج; 1876 – May 1949)[1][2] was an
Arab politician and
Islamic scholar who held various posts in the
Kingdom of Hejaz and later the
Emirate of Transjordan, including the office of
Prime Minister of both countries (including being the 5th Prime Minister of Jordan). Born in
Mecca, he graduated from
Madrasah as-Sawlatiyah and later
al-Azhar University in
Cairo. In 1907 he was appointed Mufti of the
Hanafis in Mecca by
Sharif Ali Abd Allah. He was elected to represent Mecca in the
Ottoman parliament in 1908, though he resigned before he ever served. After
Sharif Husayn declared independence from the
Ottoman Empire 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
SaudiSultanate of Nejd in 1925. He then migrated to the
Jordan, where under
Emir Abd Allah he served as Prime Minister from 1931 to 1933 while simultaneously holding the portfolios of
Finance[3] and the
Interior Ministry, as well as the office of Chief Justice.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
^Wahīm, Ṭālīb Muḥammad (1990). مملكة الحجاز 1916-1925 : دراسة في الاوضاع السياسية / Mamlakat al-Ḥijāz (1916-1925): dirāsah fī al-awḍāʻ al-sīyāsīyah [Kingdom of Hejaz (1916-1925): A study in the political situation] (1st ed.). al-Baṣrah [Basra, Iraq]: Markaz Dirāsāt al-Khalīj al-ʻArabī bī-Jāmiʻat al-Baṣrah.
^Maghribī, Muḥammad ‘Alī (1990). "عبد الله عبد الرحمن سراج / 'Abd Allāh 'Abd ar-Raḥman Sirāj". أعلام الحجاز في القرن الرابع عشر للهجرة / A'lām al-Ḥijāz fi qarn ar-rābi' 'ashr lil-hijrah [Luminaries of the Hejaz in the 14th century AH]. Vol. 3 (1st ed.). al-Qāhirah [Cairo]: Maṭba‘at al-Madanī. pp. 375–393.
^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 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 Kayalı, Hasan (1997). "A Case Study in Centralization: The Hijaz under Young Turk Rule, 1908–1914".
Arabs and Young Turks: Ottomanism, Arabism, and Islamism in the Ottoman Empire, 1908–1918. Berkeley: University of California Press.