Born at the Royal Palace, Pekan Lama, on 12 October 1874, he was the third son of Sultan Ahmad Muʽazzam and Cik Kusuma Sokma binti Tok Minal Daeng Koro.
The Sultan was unhappy that Kuala Lumpur controlled a lot of power, even in affairs which he thought had nothing to do with the Federated Malay States, but only with Pahang.
However, he reluctantly accepted the arrangement as he was dependent on the funds from the Federated Malay States, as Pahang stood to benefit from the wealth of Perak and Selangor.
[1] Among other reforms initiated during Abdullah's reign was the abolishment of a modified form of the corvée system commonly practised in Pahang.
[citation needed] By 1931, Abdullah's health had begun to fail, yet he still managed to attend the Durbar held in August that year.