Zainab Ibrahim al-Muhib

Zainab al-Muhib was a determined Jerusalemite who clamored for the opportunity to learn medicine and, once she had, dedicated her life to serving her people, treating everyone from the most lowly to royalty. Zainab Ibrahim al-Muhib was the first Palestinian woman to receive a medical degree and practice medicine. The Jerusalem-born pioneer treated both regional royalty and displaced Palestinian refugees of the 1948 War. Though she died in 1975 at the young age of 49, she is remembered for her unmatched commitment to medicine and to helping others.

Al-Muhib was born on February 11, 1926, to Ibrahim, a journalist from Lebanon, and Wasfiyya, an Albanian Circassian who came to Jerusalem as a pilgrim and stayed.1 In the early 1920s, Ibrahim settled in Jerusalem, where he met and married Wasfiyya. The couple lived in the Old City and started a family.2

Al-Muhib and her sister, Fatima, were born and spent their childhood in the al-Shawish neighborhood of the Old City of Jerusalem, centrally located on the edges of the bustling Khan al-Zeit market not far from al-Aqsa Mosque.

In the early 1920s, Ibrahim had been serving as editor of Barid al-Yawm, an Arabic-language newspaper published by Zionists in 1920.3 It was boycotted by Palestinians and went out of print in less than a year. He then served as an editor with Lisan al-‘Arab, an Arabic political and literary newspaper founded in Jerusalem in June 1921.4

Al-Muhib thus grew up in an environment where education and learning were valued. While Ibrahim and Wasfiyya had limited financial means, they managed to send their daughters to private schools in the city. Al-Muhib received her primary education at the al-‘Alawiyya and al-Ma’muniyya schools in the Old City. She then attended Kulliyyat Dar al-Mu‘allimat—the first and foremost all-girls school established in Jerusalem in 1919—and graduated in 1941.5

In school in Jerusalem, al-Muhib showed a particular talent for drawing. She became acquainted with the daughter of the Egyptian consul in Palestine, who noticed her abilities and asked her to draw a portrait of King Farouk of Egypt. The portrait was sent to the king himself, who was reportedly very impressed by its likeness and offered al-Muhib a financial reward.6 Rather than accept the money, she used this opportunity to her advantage.

During her final year in school, she wrote a letter to King Farouk, thanking him but declining monetary compensation. Instead, she attached the following words: “I want a gift for my people, which is to study medicine so that I can treat poor people like me.” She then asked him for the opportunity to study medicine in Egypt. King Farouk agreed and issued a royal decree accordingly.7

Newspapers are said to have published al-Muhib’s moving letter, which earned her fame. A clipping published in the 1970s of what appears to be a magazine honoring influential doctors in the region paraphrased her request of the king as follows: “I would like a spiritual reward, one that will outlast humankind. If nothing remains of humans but the soul, I want to discipline my own soul with the knowledge that I thirst for, which is medicine.”8

The document is held in the Omar al-Jallad collection of the Palestinian Museum Digital Archive. Al-Jallad was al-Muhib’s son whom she had with her husband, Sa’adah al-Jallad, the Palestinian military general from Tulkarem.9 Born in the Shawish neighborhood of Jerusalem like his mother, al-Jallad took after his aunt Fatima, who was an artist. A musical and theatrical artist and teacher, al-Jallad is considered one of the pioneers of children’s songs in Palestine.

With the royal scholarship, al-Muhib traveled to Cairo in 1941 and completed a bachelor’s degree in English and French before enrolling in King Fuad I University (now known as Cairo University) to study human medicine and surgery.10 She earned her medical degree in 1951, becoming the first Palestinian woman to do so. Furthermore, she came in sixth out of 520 doctors—an exceptional ranking that earned her a spot at Cairo’s prestigious Kasr el Aini Hospital.11 During this time, she also joined a medical syndicate.12

Over the course of the next two decades, al-Muhib developed a distinguished medical career, practicing medicine in Egypt and Jordan. While in Cairo, in addition to working in Kasr el Aini Hospital, she served as the physician to the princesses of Egypt. And later, when she lived in Jordan, she was the personal doctor of Queen Zein, the mother of King Hussein bin Talal.13

She also worked with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) for two years, after which she established a clinic in Jericho. When that clinic became successful, she devoted herself entirely to her private practice.14

Al-Muhib died in Jericho in on January 5, 1975, at the young age of 49. To this day, she is remembered as the first Palestinian woman doctor—a symbol of self-empowerment, perseverance, and commitment to education, service, and excellence.

“‘Dr Zaynab al-Muhib,’ a Magazine Clipping, the 1970s.” Palestinian Museum Digital Archive. Accessed September 14, 2026.

“Lisan al-‘Arab (Newspaper).” [In Arabic.] Encyclopedia Palestina, August 6, 2015.

“A News Report about Zeinab al-Muhib, the 1950s.” Palestinian Museum Digital Archive. Accessed September 14, 2026.

“A Portrait of Wasfia Abdallah al-Foqa’i al-Arana’ot.” Palestinian Museum Digital Archive. Accessed September 14, 2026.

Sahifat al-Muthaqqaf al-Filastini. “Zainab Ibrahim al-Muhib.” [In Arabic.] Facebook, September 14, 2025.

Salahat, Muhannad. “The History of Journalism in Jerusalem: The History That Was Not Documented.” [In Arabic.] al-Juba, no. 25 (2009): 24–30.

“Zainab Ibrahim Al-Muhib.” All4Palestine. Accessed September 14, 2026.

[Profile photo: The Palestinian Museum Digital Archive, Item 227122]