 Raised in a family of devout Muslims, his father was Abdul Karim Amrullah, a clerical reformer of Islam in Minangkabau, also known as Haji Rasul.His mother, Sitti Shafiyah, came from a lineage of Minangkabau artists.His paternal grandfather, Muhammad Amrullah, was a member of the Naqshbandiyah.