 His father Syed Fazal Husain was appointed an "Ataliq" (tutor) to Prince Suleiman Qader Bahadur, son of Nawab Amjad Ali of Awadh.He was educated at the Canning Collegiate at Lucknow and served in the Revenue Department of the Government.He began writing verse at the young age of 13 under the pseudonym of "Safi" without any guidance from an "Ustad" (teacher), when having an "Ustad" was the norm.