 When he was less than six years old he started his primary education in Kottab Wad El-mostaffa, but because his father moved about as a judge he moved to Arggo in the Northern State, then moved again to El-Fasher in Darfur state (now called North Darfur).When he finished third class the school administration advised that he join the El-woostta, or intermediate school, because of his high marks (at that time in Sudan primary school lasted for four years), but Ali's mother refused, preferring that he finish fourth class.Ali finished the fourth class in the El-Salemeaa primary school when his father transferred again to Meroë (Merowe) in the Northern State, a place which he later wrote much about.