The al-'Alami family of Jerusalem

The al-'Alami family of Jerusalem traces its descent to Ibn Mashish and was probably one of the Maghribi families that immigrated to Jerusalem in the 14th century, although Mujir al-Din hints that it was of Turcoman origin. ¹

Two sons of 'Alam al-Din, Musa (d. 802/1399) and 'Umar (d. 806/1403), succeeded one another as governors of the city (na'ib al-saltana) and as keepers of the sacred places of Jerusalem and Hebron (nazir al-haramayn). At least three other members of the family became chiefs of police (amir hajib) before the post was merged into the governorship, about 857/1453. ¹

Muhammad al-'Alami (d. Jerusalem 1038/1628) was one of the more famous Sufi saints of his day in Syria. He planned a mosque near the Place of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives. The Christians of Jerusalem first thwarted the plan by appealing to Constantinople, but he enlisted the support of Shaykh As'ad b. Hasan, the mufti of Constantinople, and the completed building, in 1025/1616, was called al-As'adiyya, where he was later buried. His teaching was carried on by his nephew Salah (d. 1055/1645), who was also Shadhili khalifa in Jerusalem. Eighteenth-century travellers mention several Alamis as lecturers at the Aqsa Mosque and as Hanafi muftis. ¹

Early in the present century the Alamis returned to administrative life with Fayd Allah, who was also the author of a Qur'an concordance, Fath al-Rahman (Cairo, 1927, 1955), and with his son. ¹