As a colleague of Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan, he made a contribution to Muslim modernism and presented reformative thinking about the Qur'an.
He contributed numerous works to Muslim modernism such as A Critical Exposition of the Popular Jihad and Proposed Political, Legal and Social Reforms Under Moslem Rule.
One of his initial educational accomplishments was the acquisition of the languages of Persian, Arabic, English, French, Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin and Greek.
In his early working years, Cherágh Ali was stationed as a clerk in Gurakhpūr but eventually found himself in Lucknow searching for a better job.
He then became a collector in the Office of Settlement until Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan recommended him for a position in the government of the Nizam of Hyderabad.
When Sir Sayyid was requested by Salar Jang I, the Prime Minister of Hyderabad State to hire a translator, Cherágh Ali was the one invited to fill that position.