[1] Riyadh ul Haq was born in the village of Nani Naroli, Gujarat, India in 1971 and moved to Leicester at the age of three with his father who was an Imam at one of the mosques in the city.

Until 2003, Riyadh ul Haq served as the honorary headmaster of Madinatul Uloom Al-Islamiyyah, where he was previously Sadr Mudarris (head teacher/dean of the faculty).

Riyadh ul Haq is accredited with developing the curriculum for their seven-year alim course, taught with 12 hours of study per week.

He has taught and commented on numerous classical Islamic works and has lectured extensively on a range of topics including Qurʼānic tafsīr, ḥadīth, aqīdah, fiqh and spirituality.

He has also authored two books, The Salah of a Believer in the Quran and Sunnah[6][9][10] and 'Causes of Disunity'[11] One of Riyadh ul Haq's most notable contributions to Islamic scholarship has been his detailed commentary of 'The Abridged Sahih al-Bukhari'.

[19] These make it clear that his spiritual teachings cover a range of topics including social etiquettes and responsibility, love, and family ties.

In an opinion piece by the same author on the same date there was a claim that ul Haq was in line to become the spiritual leader of the Deobandi 'sect' in Britain, despite allegedly having extreme views.

[34][36] Amongst the immediate responses, 'The Guardian carried a "Comment is Free" opinion article by Inayat Bunglawala, media secretary for the Muslim Council of Britain, calling Norfolk's work a "toxic mix of fact and nonsense".

[37] The Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK (MPACUK) claimed on their own web-site that even the Berelvis were coming out in defence of Riyadh al Haq.

[39] Riyadh ul Haq joined religious leaders and the wider Muslim community in Leicestershire in condemning the murder of Lee Rigby in May 2013.