Muhammad Masihullah Khan was born in 1329 or 1330
AH (1911/1912) in Sarai Barla, a village in the
Aligarh district of
Uttar Pradesh,
India. His family was of the
Sherwani tribe, a
Sayyid tribe of
Pathans. His father's name was Saeed Khan. He was known for piety in his youth, and he often sat in the company of scholars and
Sufis. He developed a close companionship with
Muhammad Ilyas Kandhalvi, who introduced him to the books and lectures of
Ashraf Ali Thanwi. He received his early and secondary education in Barla,
Aligarh, and enrolled in
Darul Uloom Deoband in 1347 AH (1929 AD) and graduated from there in 1349 AH (1931 AD). He continued there for another two years after graduation, spending time on
Islamic logic and
philosophy. His teachers at Deoband Seminary included
Hussain Ahmad Madani,
Izaz Ali Amrohi,
Asghar Hussain Deobandi,
Ibrahim Balyawi, Rasool Khan Hazarvi, and
Murtaza Hasan Chandpuri. He was an authorised disciple of Ashraf Ali Thanwi in
Sufism. During his student days, he pledged allegiance to Thanwi, and in 1351 AH, Thanwi gave him permission to
pledge allegiance. == Career ==