Under the command of the then Sultan of Aceh, Ibrahim attacked the Dutch, bringing with him to the frontlines his son, and Ismail's father, Tengku Ben Hasan.

No longer pursued by the Dutch, Hasan returned to Dutch-occupied Aceh, and then established a pesantren in Metareum.

There, his wife, Hajah Hindun, give birth to Ismail Hasan Metareum on 4 April 1929.

Until age 12, Ismail was taught in his fathers pesantren, Meunasah Baro, and also studied in the People's School.

After finishing his elementary studies, he attended Madrasah Sa'adah Abadiyah, moving out in 1944 to live in a pesantren closer to his school.

The stationed Japanese troops, the Fujiwara Squad, promised to the people of Aceh that they would not violate the Sharia law.

Ismail graduated in 1946 at the age of seventeen,[2] after which he attended the Islamic Junior High School of Banda Aceh.

During his studies, he frequently visited the presidential palace in Jakarta, where Sukarno give a political speech regularly every Saturday.

[7] He initially rejected the offer to enter the association, believing the chairman of HMI, Dahlan Ranumihardjo, to be aligned with Sukarno.

[7] During Ismail's tenure as the chairman of HMI, Sukarno pushed his ideology of Nasakom, supporting communism.