He was married to his cousin, Sayyida Turkia bint Turki Al-Said, daughter of Turki bin Said, Sultan of Muscat and Oman. Hamad died suddenly at 11:40 AM on 25 August 1896 and was almost certainly poisoned by his cousin Khalid bin Barghash who proclaimed himself the new Sultan and held the position for three days before being replaced by the British Armed Forces after the Anglo-Zanzibar War.