[1] He was the elder brother of writer and linguist Syed Mujtaba Ali.
His father, Khan Bahadur Syed Sikandar Ali, was a Sub-Registrar.
[2] Ali's mother, Amatul Mannan Khatun, belonged to the Chowdhuries of Kala and Bahadurpur, an Islamised branch of the Pal family of Panchakhanda.
[3] His paternal family's ancestral home is Khandakar Bari in Uttarsur Village of Bahubal Upazila of Habiganj District.
[1] Ali served as the president of the Bangla Academy during 1969-1971 and 1975-1977 and Asiatic Society of Bangladesh in 1974.