His father, Musa al-Husayni, held various senior positions in the Ottoman Empire, working in Yemen, Iraq, Najd and Constantinople (Istanbul) in addition to Palestine.

Musa was the first to raise his voice in the face of the British Mandate and the first to call the people of Palestine to protest, demonstrate, and show their discontent and anger against the Balfour Declaration.

Abdul Qadir completed his secondary education in Jerusalem with distinction and then started at the College of Arts and Sciences at the American University of Beirut, but did not continue his studies there.

Husayni was killed while personally reconnoitring an area of Qastal Hill shrouded by fog, in the early hours of 8 April 1948.

[7] Palmach troops recaptured the village on the night of 8–9 April, losing 18 men in the attack;[8] most of the houses were blown up and the hill became a command post.