 His father, Ahmad Izzat Pasha al-Abed, was born in Damascus to a rich family, where he was initially brought up, before pursuing his education in Beirut, Beirut Vilayet.He was fluent in Arabic, French, and Turkish.He traveled to Constantinople (now Istanbul) and served Sultan ‘Abdu’l-Hamid II of the Ottoman Empire, then became his adviser and served as the head of his intelligence services, and he also governed over the Iraqi city of Mosul.