mohammad isnaeni was born in ponorogo, east java, from the father khasan yahya, a religion teacher in malo from an "ulama" family in tegalsari, ponorogo. khasan's student were from tegalsari and outside the region. his mother was umiyati, which came from a "pesantren" family in pacitan. isnaeni also had three brothers, in ngam, isngat, and istijab.