Abd al-Malik was one of the sons of the Saadi Sultan Mohammed ash-Sheikh, who was assassinated by the Ottomans in 1557 by order of Hasan Pasha, son of Barbarossa, as he was preparing for an alliance with Spain against the Ottomans.
One of his brothers Abdallah al-Ghalib (1557-1574) then took power and ascended to the throne.