Hakkam's father, Eliyahu Hakham, was a Sofer from Iraq, who scribed torah scrolls in Baghdad.

Taking a great interest in literature, Hakham spoke his native Persian, Hebrew, and Arabic.

At that time Bukharan Jews were getting only a general education, which mostly consisted of religious laws, reading, writing and some math.

He also wrote and translated the following books: Likudei dinim (1900), Dreams and their meaning (1901), Yosef and Zuleiha (1902), The Passover Haggadah (1904), and Meghilat Ester (1905).

In 1986, the Hebrew Union College published an English study and translation of Hakham's Musa-Nama, edited by Herbert.