Al Madani was born in Acre in 1921.[1] He was a corporal in an Arab force during World War II under British mandate.[1][2] After the war he attended the Sarafand British Military College in Palestine graduating as a second lieutenant in 1946.[1] He was tasked to train the Saudi Arabian army from 1946 to 1947.[1] He also trained 85 Palestinians together with Hazim Khalidi, and this group led the defense of Palestine against the Zionists in 1948.[1]
Al Madani settled in Kuwait in 1952 where he trained the Kuwaiti army and was involved in the establishment of its units.[1][3] He also served as an officer for the Kuwaiti Royal Guard and became a major general.[4][5]
Al Madani was appointed the commander-in-chief of the PLA on 24 September 1964 when it was established by the Palestine Liberation Organization.[1][4] He was a lieutenant colonel before his appointment and became a lieutenant general with his new post.[5] In the initial period the PLA was based in Cairo.[5] Al Madani was also head of a military group called Heroes of Return which started an armed struggle in October 1966.[1][6] This group was attached to the PLA.[7] He served as the commander-in-chief of the PLA until 1969 when he resigned from the post.[1][7] His resignation partly occurred as a result of the Syrians interference on the PLA activities.[7] During his term as the PLA commander Al Madani was also subject to the pressure of the Egyptian chief-of-staff Muhammad Fawzi.[5] Al Madani was replaced by Abd al Razzaq Yahya in the post a few months after his resignation.[7]
Al Madani returned to Kuwait and was named as the commander of the Kuwaiti security forces in 1970. He was later appointed director of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces.[4] His tenure in the Kuwaiti army lasted until his retirement in 1984.[1][3]
Al Madani died in 1991.[4]
