 They were then known as the Rais of Delhi.His grandfather, Hakim Sharif Khan, was a physician to Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam and had built the "Sharif Manzil", a hospital-cum-college teaching Unani medicine.Hakim Ajmal Khan learnt the Quran by heart and as a child studied traditional Islamic knowledge including Arabic and Persian, before turning his energy to the study of medicine under the guidance of his senior relatives, all of whom were well-known physicians.