[1] A native of Qazvin, Ahmad Ghaffari belonged to a distinguished lineage, known for their roles as scholars and officials.

His family was descended from Najm al-Din al-Qazwini al-Katibi (died 1266), a prominent scholar of the Shafi'i school in Sunni Islam.

Ahmad Ghaffari's paternal grandfather Abd-al-Ghaffar served as the army judge (qazi-e mo'askar) under the Aq Qoyunlu.

[1] Ahmad Ghaffari began his career under Shah Tahmasp I as a court scribe but soon found himself working for the latters younger brother Sam Mirza.

He traveled to Mughal India in 1568 from the Hijaz, but died in Debal, a port city in the Sindh region near present-day Karachi in Pakistan.