Ibrahim was born and raised in Ibadan, Oyo State of Nigeria. He attended the Arabic Institute of Nigeria after which he received B.A. and M.A. from the prestigious University of Ibadan in Arabic & Islamic Studies and Arabic Language & Literature respectively. He received a second M.A. in Comparative Literature from Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Doha, Qatar.

His research interests cover Arabic Literature, Nigerian Literature-in-Arabic, Islamic Studies, Postcolonialism, Cultural Studies, Translation Studies, and Sociolinguistics.