[3] Bensmaia was born in Algiers into a family of Turkish origin.

[1] His father, Ali Ben Abderrahmane Khodja, was the last mufti Malikite of Algiers.

[1] His nephew, Omar Bensmaia, was a prominent visual artist and successful tobacco merchant.

[2] He taught in Madrasa Thaalibia since its inauguration in 17 october 1904.

[4][5] After his death in 1933, he was buried in the Thaalibia Cemetery of the Casbah of Algiers.