Jarallah was born in Jerusalem and was educated at the al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. He was a leading member of the Supreme Muslim Council during the British Mandate of Palestine. Politically, he was an ally of the Nashashibis and a rival of the al-Husaynis. When Kamil al-Husayni died in 1921, Jarallah had significant support from the ulema in Jerusalem to succeed al-Husayni as Grand Mufti. Indeed, he won the most votes in the election for the post. However, the British High Commissioner Herbert Samuel convinced Jarallah to withdraw, thus allowing al-Husayni's brother Amin to qualify as a candidate, whom Samuel then appointed Grand Mufti of Jerusalem[1] As a consolation, the British appointed Jarallah as the chief qadi and inspector of the Muslim religious courts in Palestine. He was Minister of Justice of Transjordan from 1926 to 1929.[2]
Zvi Elpeleg (1992, David Harvey, trans.). The Grand Mufti : Haj Amin al-Hussaini, Founder of the Palestinian National Movement (London: Frank Cass) ISBN0-7146-3432-8
