After learning at the Arab College in Jerusalem, he sought degrees in Montpellier, Paris and the University of London, before returning to Mandatory Palestine in 1938.

He served as the General Inspector of Awqaf (Muslim public properties in Palestine) for four years, and then as a District Judge in Nablus between 1943 and 1945.

[5][6] In February of 1948, during the Palestine war, Haikal contacted David Ben-Gurion through a British intermediary trying to secure a peace agreement with nearby Tel Aviv, which was opposed by the commander of the city's Arab militia.

[5] In 1949, Haikal was appointed Jordanian Minister to the United States,[9] In August of 1952, he became Jordan's representative at the International Monetary Fund.

[citation needed] After retiring from his diplomatic posts, Haikal moved to Lebanon and wrote a memoir.