His father was a Qazi in the city of Qandahar, as well as being a some-time minister[2] during the reign of Shah Shujah Durrani (1785-1842), King of Afghanistan.
Raised speaking Pashto, he became a scholar of Arabic, Persian and his native language, as well as being an Islamic jurist who was able to assist his father in his profession as a Qazi.
Henry George Raverty mentioned his skill as both a poet and scholar[6] At the age of 32, Ismail left Afghanistan and traveled to India.
Qazi Muhammad Yousaf has recorded his discussion of Shia and Sunni differences with a scholar at Shikarpur.
When the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Community published his claim to be the promised Messiah in his books Fatah Islam and Tauzi Muram in 1891, Ismail commented that "The writer speaks like the Messengers of Bani Israel"; his Bible translation work had made him acquainted with the Biblical prophets.
In Tohfa e Golariya, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad wrote: Muhammad Ismail lived in Peshawar from 1852 to 1912, dying on September 18, 1912.