His father was an akhoond at the Caucasus Muslim Clerical Board, who taught Islamic law, Persian and Arabic at a secondary school in Tbilisi (then Tiflis).

Later he was also known for writing short stories that illustrated bitter consequences of poverty and economic ordeals faced by the working class in pre-Soviet Russia.

Despite his academic work aimed at promoting Azerbaijani culture and somewhat open anti-Stalinist views, he is not believed to have been persecuted by the state.

He also translated numerous works by Shakespeare, Defoe, Pushkin, Lermontov, Krylov, Gorky, Nekrasov, Nizami, and Firdowsi into Azerbaijani and Russian languages.

A. Shaig's friends Najaf bey Vazirov, Suleyman Sani Akhundov, Huseyn Javid, Bulbul (singer), Yusif Vazir Chamanzaminli, Ahmad Javad, and Samad Vurgun were guests here.