After completing his studies, he taught at madrasas in Ferozepur Jhirka and Calcutta and then at Hayaatul Ulum in Muradabad.
He was assistant successively to the collector of Bareilly, the political agent at Delhi, and the collector of the southern division of Muradabad; secretary to the Sudder board of Revenue for the North-Western Provinces; and (1847) secretary to the governor-general in council for the foreign department.