Rizvi was born in Amroha, British India to a Sunni Saddat family on December 8, 1940.
He moved to the Oriental College, Lahore for higher studies and earned his MA in Arabic in 1961.
Rizvi's most celebrated research work so far has been his book entitled Pre-Islamic Arabic Literature (عربی ادب قبل از اسلام Arabi Adab Qabl az Islam).
His publications include works of poetry, essay-writing and translation: Rizvi started teaching at the age of 19 as a lecturer in Arabic at Government College in Bahawalpur.
In 1991, he became Head of the Department of Arabic at Government College Lahore (now a university), opting for an early retirement in 1995 to focus on his research pursuits.