Haji Yaakob was born in Kampung Surau in the mukim of Pedu, Kuala Nerang. He received his early education from his father, Haji Ahmad Lebai Salleh who was an Imam in the village.

In 1870, Haji Yaakob went to further his studies on such religious subjects as Fiqah, Tauhid, Usuluddin, Tasauf, Hadis and Tafsir at the Al-Haram Mosque in Mecca. He spent 30 years in Mecca, learning from such teachers as Sheikh Abdul Qadir, Aheikh Ali Maliki and Sheikh Abdullah Zawawi. He was fluent in Aabic and was well versed in such studies as Tafsir, Tauhid, Hadis, Usuluddin and Fiqah.

He returned in 1900 at the age of 37, a man much respected for his wide knowledge on the tenets of Islam. He worked on the assimilation of Islamic values to save the pure Islamic faith and taught the locals in the District of Padang Terap. In 1901, he moved to Pendang, where he opened a Pondok (hut) religious School, at the village of Batu Menunggul, in the mukim of Air Puteh. While at Batu Menunggul, he taught about 300 students from other states, such as Perak, Penang, Perlis, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and from parts of Indonesia.

From 1911 to 1921 he served as kadi for the District of Baling. In 1921, he was tranferrred to Kulim District, where he served for a year. He then served in Kubang Pasu for four months before being transferred to Kota Setar District where he served from 1922 to 1939. He was at that time known as 'Haji Yaakob Puteh'. As Kadi, he was also a judge of the Shariah or Islamic Religious Law Court where he acted at upholding justice based on the tenets of Islam. He retired from the post of Kadi in 1940, at the age of 77.

In 1940, he opened another Pondok Religious School, at Bendang Village in the District of Kuala Nerang. In 1943, the school was moved to Bukit Gedung Village, in the Mukim of Belimbing Kanan of Padang Terap District.

He used various texts books to teach Fiqah, Tauhid, Usuluddin, Tasawuf and Tafsir. For Tauhid, he used Hidayah al-Hidayah, Dur al-Thamin, Aqidah al-Najin, Zahrah al-Murid and Kifayah al-Awam. His Tasawuf texts were Minhaj al-Abidin, Risalah al-Muawanah, Dur al-Nafis and Ihya Ulumuddin. He taught Hadis with the aid of such texts books as Samma al-Muhammadiyah, Jam'ul Fawaid and Juhar al-Tauhid.

Haji Yaakob died of old age at 80, and was buried at Kuala Nerang.