Alaol was born in Fatehabad, currently located in Faridpur, Bangladesh, to a minister in the court of Majlis Qutb, the ruler of Fatehabad. Alaol was kidnapped by Portuguese pirates while travelling on boat with his father and subsequently was taken to Arakan.
He is thought to have been born around 1607 in Faridpur in what is now Bangladesh. His most well known work is Poddobhoti, which depicts the story of Poddobhoti, the Sinhala princess and the queen of Chittor. He is considered to be one of the most prolific medieval Bengali poets.
Since most of his poems combine emotion with intellect, he is called the Pondit Kobi or "Wise Poet" of medieval Bengali literature.
An important Bangladeshi literary prize, the Alaol Puroshkar, is named after him. Alaol worked as a bodyguard for a while, but slowly his reputation as a poet spread.
His talent was first recognised by Solaiman, a minister of King Shrichondro Sudhormo (Sanda Thudhamma) of the Mrauk-U dynasty of Arakan. Alaol Hall, a principal male student dormitory at the University of Chittagong in Bangladesh, is named after him.
