A native of Karachi, Jamal worked as an engineering technician. When his first wife, who was suffering from undiagnosed multiple sclerosis, had exhausted all fertility avenues, he married Cheryfa MacAulay, with her blessing. MacAulay had a history of drug and alcohol abuse, dropping out of Grade 10 in Halifax to join the army, and entering a troubled first marriage before converting to Islam and turning her life around. The media would later point to the fact she wore the niqab face covering, and had campaigned against sexual education being taught in schools without due parental notice of its content.