Tuan Haji Muhammad Arif was born in 1871 at the village of Sungai Nonang, in the Mukim of Tebengau, in the District of Kota Setar. He received his early religious education from his father, Haji Ishak. At the age of seven he was sent to Haji Muhammad Alim of Kampong Sungai for a more formal religious education. He proved himself and apt student, capable of mastering all the subjects taught to him.

In 1890, he was sent to by his teacher, Haji Muhammad Alim, to Mecca to further his religious studies. While he Mecca, he was tutored on such religious subjects as Fiqah, Tauhid, Usuludin, Tasawuf, Hadis and Tafsir by Sheikh Abdul Qadir at the Al-Haram Mosque.

In 1900 Haji Muhammad Arif returned to Kedah after spending ten years in Mecca. He was 30. He was so highly regarded that he was reputed to have such supernatural powers as not being wet in a rainfall, able to walk on water and was a specialist in astronomy. In 1901, he took over the pondok (hut) school founded by Haji Muhammad Alim in Sungai Nonang. Haji Muhammad Alim on the other hand, paid more attention to another pondok school he had opened at Tasek Junjung, Penang. Under Haji Muhammad Arif's leadership, the podok school of Sungai Nonang grew rapidly to become one of the most famous schools in Kedah.

His teaching activities, was one of his early acts in spreading the teachings of Islam after his return from Mecca. The encouraging increase in the number of students prompted Haji Muhammad Arif to build more huts for his students, another school building and a mosque at Kampung Sungai Nonang.

Haji Mohammad Arif's expertise in astronomy made him a person who was also knowledgeable in climates and changes in weather. He always observes the weather before going out to sea to ensure that his journey would be a smooth one, free from high winds and storms. He also taught fishermen the art of self- defence to fight against pirates, the identification of certain heavenly bodies so that they would not lose their sense of direction while out at sea and how to make a good catch. He once questioned a British astronomer's prediction on the date for an eclipse of the moon and countered his claim with one of his own. Haji Mohammad Arif was proven to be right. This incident gained him the confidence of Sultan Abd. Hamid, who made him responsible for deciding the beginning of the months of Ramadan and Shawal.

In 1914, Haji Muhammad Arif moved all his students from the Districts of Kota Setar, Yan, Gurun, Sik, Seberang Prai and the State of Penang to Air Puteh near Pendang. He was the person responsible for opening the village and giving it the name, Ayer Puteh. The pondok school of Ayer Puteh became an important center for the study of Islam between 1914 and 1929. Many Islamic intellectuals, such as the Member of Parliament for Sik, Dr. Abd. Hamid Othman, Haji Ahmad Badawi (father to Dato' Abdullah Ahmad Badawi), Haji Fauzi Haji Mustafa, a teacher of Yan Kecil pondok school, Haji Azizan Haji Mustafa, the founder of Al-Fallah Religious School in Kampung Perlis, Kangkong and many others, were the product of this center. Sultan Abd. Hamid who reigned from 1881 to 1943 was also one of Haji Muhammad Arif's former students.

Haji Muhammad Arif was a generous man, who built a large warehouse near his house and stocked it with foodstuffs to be donated to the poor and needy. His generosity made him a person respected and loved by all. Even after his passing he was still remembered for his deeds and kindness and a school in Kampung Ayer Puteh Dalam, was named Sekolah Kebangsaan Haji Mohammad Arif in his memory. A mosque in the same village was founded by him.