Born to a Palestinian father and an Egyptian mother in 1945, little is known about al-Zahar's early life.

At the age of 26, he graduated from the Cairo University Faculty of Medicine and five years later he got his Masters Degree in General Surgery from Ain Shams University, also in Cairo. He then became the advisor to the Palestinian Health Minister, and helped create the Palestinian Medical society and was one of the primary founders of the Islamic University in Gaza in 1978.

al-Zahar has had four children with his wife Summaya, including their first son, Khaled born in 1974, and a daughter Rima born in 1983

Instrumental to the creation of Hamas in 1987, al-Zahar remained a senior official and spokesperson for the group since then, and is rumoured to have succeeded to leadership of the group following Israel's assassination of Ahmed Yassin in 2004. Hamas has routinely denied this rumour, but refused to name who their new leader is, for fear of Israeli reprisals.

The most notable attempt on al-Zahar's life was on September 10th 2003, when Israeli F-16s dropped a large bomb over his house in Rimal that only managed to slightly wound him, while his son Khaled, and a personal bodyguard were killed, and 20 others wounded including his daughter Rima. His house was destroyed, and ten other houses nearby were damaged, as well as the nearby Al-Rahman mosque. The resulting funeral was attended by over two thousand mourners, who called on Hamas to avenge the deaths.

On January 17th 2003, Haaretz quoted al-Zahar as warning;

"If Iraq is attacked... all American targets will be open targets for every Muslim, Arab or Palestinian. Any attack against Iraq will be answered by resistance everywhere and American interests everywhere will be targeted. We say that all American targets will be open targets to every Muslim, Arab, or Palestinian."

Mansur Al-Hallaj (c. 858 - March 26, 922) was a Persian mystic, writer and teacher of Sufism. His full name was Abu al-Mughith al-Husayn ibn Mansur al-Hallaj.

He was born around 858 in Tur, Iran to a wool seller. Al-Hallaj's grandfather may have been a Zoroastrian. His father lived a simple life, and this form of lifestyle greatly interested the young al-Hallaj. As a youngster he memorized the Qur'an and would often retreat from worldly pursuits to join other mystics in study.

Al-Hallaj would later marry and make a pilgrimage to Mecca. After his trip to the holy city, he traveled extensively and wrote and taught along the way. He travelled as far as India and Central Asia gaining many followers, many of which accompanied him on his second and third trips to Mecca. After this period of travel, he settled down in the Abbasid capital of Baghdad.

Among other Sufis, Al-Hallaj was an anomaly, many sufi masters felt that it was inappropriate to share mysticism with the masses, yet Al-Hallaj openly did so in his writings and through his teachings. He would begin to make enemies, and the rulers saw him as a threat. This was exacerbated by times when he would fall into trances which he attributed to being in the presence of God. During one of these trances, he would utter Ana al-Haqq, meaning "I am the Truth" and also, "In my turban is wrapped nothing but God?" which was taken to mean that he was claiming to be God, as Al-Haqq is one of the Ninety Nine Names of Allah.

This utterance would lead him to a long trial, and subsequent imprisonment for eleven years in a Baghdad jail. In the end, he would be tortured and publicly crucified by the Abbasid rulers for what they deemed as a heresy. Many accounts tell of Al-Hallaj's calm demeanor even while he was being tortured, and indicate that he forgave those who had executed him. He died on March 26, 922.

His writings are very important not only to Sufis, but to all Muslims. Many Thelemites also make use of his teachings, especially in terms of his identification as God - a central gnostic principle. His example is seen by some as one that should be emulated, especially his calm demeanor in the face of torture and his forgiving of his tormentors. Many honor him as an adept that came to realize the inherent divine nature of all men and women. Others continue to see him as a heretic.