Hamad Al-Jasser ((Geographer of the Arabian Peninsula and its historian and lineage))

Contemporary scholars and thinkers series, glimpses of their lives and introduction to their publications Hamad Al-Jasser (1328 AH / 1910 - 16 Rajab 1421 AH / September 14, 2000), a Saudi scholar, researcher, and media figure, interested in the Arabic language, history, geography, and genealogy. He was an active member of the Arab Language Academy in Cairo, the Royal Islamic Civilization Research Academy in Amman, a corresponding member of the Arab Language Academy in Damascus, the Jordanian Arab Language Academy in Amman, the Iraqi Academy, and the Arab Scientific Academy in India. He worked in education, judiciary, journalism, and publishing. He established the Yamama Publishing Institution, which issued the magazine Al-Yamama, the first magazine published in Riyadh city, in 1952. This was followed by the Al-Riyadh newspaper in 1965 and finally the Arab magazine, a quarterly specialized in the history and literature of the Arabian Peninsula. Hamad Al-Jasser established the first printing house in Najd in 1955, and in 1966 he founded Dar Al-Yamama for Research, Translation, and Publishing. He also contributed to his homeland’s culture as a scholar, historian, and geographer, leaving behind many books bearing his name that cover various fields of knowledge such as geographical and historical images, travel literature, biographies, and critical editions of important heritage texts. He also deeply contributed to defining the strategies of Al-Furqan Foundation for Islamic Heritage, owned by Ahmed Zaki Yamani, where he was a founding member of the International Advisory Council. His birth and upbringing: He is Hamad bin Muhammad bin Jasser, from the Al Jasser family belonging to Al-Katma from Banu Ali from the tribe of Harb. He was born in 1328 AH in the village of Al-Baroud in the Sarr region of Najd, from a poor farmer father, and has three brothers: Jasser, Roshood, and Ali. He grew up weak and ill, unable to help his father, so he was enrolled in the village’s Kuttab (traditional school), where he learned to read and memorize the Quran. His father took him to Riyadh in 1341 AH, where he stayed with a relative of his, a scholar named Abdulaziz bin Fayez, and learned some basics of religious sciences (jurisprudence and monotheism). He returned from Riyadh after the death of the man he was living with in 1342 AH, and his father soon died, so he was taken care of by his grandfather on his mother’s side, Ali bin Abdullah bin Salim, who was the imam of the mosque in Al-Baroud. He helped his grandfather with the prayer and then worked as a teacher for the village children until 1346 AH. In 1346 AH, he was appointed as a guide for a branch of the Banu 'Atiba tribe called Al-Hawama from Al-Nufa'a from Barga, leading their Ramadan prayers and teaching them religious matters, living in the desert and moving with them. At the end of 1346 AH, he went to Riyadh and settled there to seek knowledge from its scholars, studying some texts such as Ibn Ajrum’s Al-Ajrumiyyah, the Three Fundamentals, the manners of walking to prayer by Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab, and Al-Malhah Al-I'rab by Al-Hariri. Then a significant phase in his life began, as he left Riyadh heading to Mecca. In 1348 AH, he enrolled in the Saudi Scientific Institute, the first formal school established during the Saudi era. He was briefly assigned to lead the Mosque of Abu Qubais in Mecca in 1349 AH. He also undertook a short commercial trip to the Asir region, visiting the cities of Khamis and Abha in 1353 AH. He graduated from the Saudi Islamic Institute, specializing in Sharia law, in 1353 AH. He is married to Haila daughter of Abdulaziz Al-Anqari and has six children: the eldest is Muhammad, who died in a plane crash; followed by Mii, Hind, Salwa, Maan, and Mona.