Ahmad was born in 1862 in Nanauta into the Siddiqi family; his father was Islamic scholar Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi.
He studied parts of the Jami` at-Tirmidhi with Muhammad Yaqub Nanautawi and specialized in hadith with Rashid Ahmad Gangohi.
[6] Ahmad was honored with the title of Shamsul Ulama by the British Government of India,[7][8] which he returned in 1920.
[10][9] Ahmad died on October 18, 1928 (Jumad al-Ula 3, 1347 AH) while travelling in a train near Nizamabad Junction railway station and was buried in a special graveyard Khitta-e-Salihin with the consent of Mir Osman Ali Khan.
[11][12][13] His son Qari Muhammad Tayyib was vice chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband for fifty years.