Early Life
Nik Abdul Aziz was born in 1931 to a single father (Tok Kura) who was an aspiring blacksmith in his hometown of Pulau Melaka, being the second eldest of five siblings. His Islamic studies began in pondok schools in Kelantan and Terengganu. He went on to study at Darul Uloom Deoband in Uttar Pradesh, India for five years. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Arabic Studies and Master of Arts in Islamic jurisprudence from Al-Azhar University, Egypt. During his university studies, he was one of the witnesses and a civilian to have lived in the heat of the Arab-Israeli Conflict.
Having returned from Egypt, Nik Aziz began as a teacher at various religious schools in Kelantan, hence his popular nickname "Tok Guru." He is able to converse in Arabic, English, Tamil and Urdu in addition to his native Malay language.
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