He was born into a Muslim family in Khairabad, Uttar Pradesh to Jan Nisar Akhtar, a Bollywood film songwriter and Urdu poet, and singer Safia Akhtar, a teacher and writer.
In 993 Hijra (1585 A.D.) The Mogul Sarkar of Khairabad, in the Subah of Oudh received an ulām (message) from the administrator of Luxmipur (Lakhimpur).