His father, Hasan Spaho was an expert of the Sharia law, and before the Austro-Hungarian occupation in 1878, he was a judge in Jajce, Sofia, Damascus and Cairo.

Spaho had two brothers, Mehmed, a notable politician, and Mustafa and three sisters, Behija, Aiša and Habiba.

He was appointed on 26 April 1938 and his inauguration ceremony occurred in Sarajevo's Emperor's Mosque on 9 June 1938.

[2] Following the start of World War II and the establishment of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), Spaho continued to serve as Grand Mufti.

Alongisde archbishop Ivan Šarić, he supported Croatian fascist leader Ante Pavelić and the creation of the NDH.