The college began as a school, the Al Madrasathul Khairiyyathul Islamiah. Founded by Marhoom Sidde Lebbe , Marhoom Wapichi Marikkar and Ahmed Orabi Pasha at the school's opening ceremony on 15 November 1884, which also was the first Muslim English school in this country - 'AL Madurasathul Khairiyyatul Islamiah' in Colombo.In 1901 Noordeen Hadjiar, trustee of the Grand Mosque, built a new building for the school using his own funds as a monument to the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of Abdul Hamid II, the Ottoman Sultan, and renamed the school Al Madrasathul Hameediah. In the same year a farewell ceremony was held for Orabi at the school premises to mark his departure from Ceylon to Egypt. In 1921, the school was again renamed as Hameediah Boys' English School.During this same period, The Ceylon Moslem Educational Society Ltd. was founded in 1919 with the objective of looking after the educational needs of the Muslim community. The first school founded by the society was in Hulftsdrop Street and was called Akbar School. Later the members of the society bought the property at 45 Husseiniya Street (then called Kuruwe Street) and the school was shifted there in 1919 and named Husseinie Boys' English School.In 1961 the school was amalgamated with the nearby Husseinie Boys' English School under the new name Hameed Al Husseinie Maha Vidyalaya by Badiudin Mahmud, the Minister of Education. On 29 August 1972.The school was officially granted college status in 1991, and was renamed Hameed Al Husseinie College. It was elevated to a National School on July 26, 1996.