Translated by Sabrin Qadah 

The well-known family kept trading in oil, dates, soap, and cereals, until the calamity happened in the late fifties by the sinking of a ship in the middle of the Mediterranean, which was loaded with all sorts of goods.

The Family suffered a heavy loss that cost it everything that owned due to the absence of any cargo insurance at that time, which pushed the family to begin their lives from zero after they were born rich.

After the sinking of the ship, the family was forced to confront difficult and harsh conditions. However, the intelligence of the father and his wisdom led him to a commercial technique represented by filling bags of salt and selling them at the same price he bought them in order to prove to others that he was still able to stand up and withstand the crisis!!

Perhaps this is the greatest lesson the "Shahbandar of traders” learned from his father, and that served to get him out of the different business crises.

The transition from salt trade to  grain trade is also another lesson for Murad that was more present in his life, as the father bought lentils and other grains in the same price at which he sold.

These two wise lessons symbolize the key to understand Haidar Murad’s personality, but he added to them new knowledge that he obtained after completing his studies in Gaza and acquiring al-Tawjihi from there. Then he traveled to Cairo and studied Egyptian Tawjihi, then joined the Faculty of Commerce and Economics at Cairo University, where he earned the bachelor's degree in 1962.

In 1963, Murad married a Gazan woman from Lulu's family and they had three sons: Eissa (Jesus), Yousef (Joseph), and Ali, in addition to three daughters. All of his sons work with him in his company.

In the early sixties, the family moved from Gaza to Jordan (Amman) after the father has got the Jordanian citizenship. The company grew and became one of the leading Jordanian companies where it proceeded to export grains from Horan crops to Beirut.

Al Haj Haidar’s experience and reputation enabled him to persuade his father to work in the field of electrical appliances besides the grain trade, "and we started working in the shop, which was opened for this purpose in al-Misdar while my father continued to trade in grains."

The company was dedicated as a supplier for most merchants in the regions of the Kingdom, and then entered into a series of large tenders until it became one of the leading importers of electric tools.

However, the company suffered a big jolt in 1997 because of the bankruptcy of some of the traders and the fact they were not able to pay their commitments, and the entering of the electrical sector into recession. However, the company was able to overcome them, as Haj Haider said, who also asserted, "What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger".

The experience of his father pushed him to run for a new experience represented in knocking the doors of Amman Chamber of Commerce achieving an old ambition of his father.

When he nominated himself, Haj Haidar won the highest poll with a nine-vote margin between him and the chairman of the rival bloc, Alhaj Hamdi al Tabba’.

The second time he nominated himself, Murad received the highest votes and also won the third time to eventually become president of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce as a whole.

25-year that Murad spent between the lobbies of the Chamber of Commerce as a representative of the commercial sector which through he was able to develop a Chamber of Arbitration that contributed to solving many of the dilemmas in the commercial center and  institutionalizing the work in a way that has accompanied the growth of the commercial sector.

During his period of administration of the Chamber of Commerce, Haj Haidar set his sights on strict limitations. First, to not confuse politics with trade, though he considered that political stability is the most important guarantee for the success of trade.

Haj Haider, who has his hands on the steering wheel of one of the largest forty Jordanian companies, confirms that the social role of the company is the most important topic of focus in his work.

After more than 50 years in the business field, Haj Murad says he "never had a bounced check" in his life because he knew exactly where to put his feet and didn’t depend on slyness or trickery, as to him, integrity was the most important determinant of success in trade.

Haj Haidar believes that "the non-good boat drowns".  From this point, he spends much of his time in charity works. Close people to Haj Haidar confirmed that he set up a special section in the company for studying social conditions and helping the needy from the belief that these people have a share in the profits of the company and its income as “the non-good boat will definitely sink".