 Thawil received basic Islamic religious education such as reading al-Quran from his father directly, Imam As'ad who was also a cleric at his pesantren at Tanara.In addition, he also studied other sciences such as "nahwu" (arabic grammar), "sharaf" (morphology), fiqh, and tawhid from his father.In 1867 when Thawil was 16 years old, he went to Bima to study with Sheikh Abdul Gani.