Tariq Appleby was born and grew up in Cape Town, South Africa. His family background is a mix of Malay, Indian and European descent; his great grandfather was English.

After completing High school Tariq attended the Islamic University of Madinah to pursue Islamic studies. He completed his Diploma in Arabic and then in 2007 graduated with a B.A. in Hadith studies. His time in Madinah coincided with that of his friend and colleague Bilal Ismail. During that time they both studied basic Fiqh with Sheikh Tawfique Chowdhury and also with other scholars in Madinah.

Sheikh Tariq Appleby has taught for a number of Islamic centres in Cape Town, and is currently working as a teacher in the Discover Islam Centre (DIC) with Dr Abdullah Hakim Quick. He also teaches with Al-Hijra foundation, which offers short courses and youth programmes in Cape Town.

Sheikh Tariq is married with child; his hobbies include hiking and martial arts. He joins the AlKauthar family of tutors where he is specialising in courses for the Hadith faculty Insha’Allah.