Mahwi was born in 1830 (some sources cite 1836) in Sulaymaniyah， fostering a love for language. ， young Muhammad imbibed religious piety and literary appreciation from an early age. Sulaymaniyahs vibrant mosques and madrasas exposed him to Quranic studies and Persian poetry， likely affiliated with the Balkhi lineage of mystics， Afghanistan， a hub of Sufi thought， though they had settled in Kurdistan generations prior. Growing up in a devout household， was a respected Islamic scholar and Sufi， Mullah Uthman Balkhi， then part of the Ottoman vilayet of Shahrizor. His father。
which traced roots to Central Asia. The family name Ballkhi suggests origins in Balkh，。