Abu Muhammad Bahauddin Zakariya, later known simply as Bahauddin Zakariya, was born around 1170 CE in Kot Kehror (now known as Karor Lal Esan), a town near the ancient city of Multan, in the southern part of the Punjab province of modern Pakistan. His grandfather, Shah Kamal-ud-Din Ali Shah Qureshi, had arrived in Multan from Mecca, Arabia while en route to the Khwarezm region of Central Asia.

Bahauddin Zakariya descended from the lineage of Asad Ibn Hashim, and was hence a Hashmi, or direct descendent of the same clan lineage as the Prophet Muhammad.