Ashraf traces his lineage to a family of Syeds in Kichhauchha Sharif, a small town in the district of Ambedkar Nagar, eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Habeeb worked in the village library; although he was enrolled at Firangi Mahal, a madrasa in Lucknow, he did not complete his education due to the death of his father.
Habeeb wrote to his eldest son, Syed Amin Ashraf (who was stationed in Aligarh), six months before his death asking him to be home on 3 February 1972 for his burial.
Before her marriage, she assisted her father in the preparation of drugs in his dispensary and acquired a knowledge of Unani medicine (particularly diseases of women and children).
Syed Amin Ashraf received his PhD in English literature from Aligarh Muslim University, and later taught in the same department.
Their second son, Syed Hameed Ashraf (who died in 1993), studied Shariah at Al Jamiatul Ashrafia Mubarakpur and Darul Uloom Deoband, received B.A., M.A.
Ashraf received his primary education from the village madrasa and graduated from middle school in Baskhari, a small town near his home, in 1948.
After completing his education at Aligarh Muslim University, he gave spiritual allegiance (baith) to Syed Qadeer Ahmad Ashrafiul Jilani in Kichaucha Sharif.