Ibrahim was born in Sudan in 1939. He received his Master's degree in Modern History in 1977. He received his Ph.D. in 1980. From 1980 to 1991, he served as a university professor at a number of Arab institutes and universities, including Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Saudi Arabia, Al Neelain University in Khartoum from 1997 to 1999, and the United Arab Emirates University in 2000.

Ibrahim has been interested in studying the history of the Arabian Gulf region and has many documentary studies and researches related to the history of the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula, having published more than thirty books on Gulf and Eastern Africa studies, translations of the journeys of some Westerners, and scientific research curricula in history, as well as the history of ancient Sudan and the history of ancient civilizations.

He has also published a number of researches in periodicals and magazines, including the Journal of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Imam Mohammed Bin Saud Islamic University, the Journal of African Studies, and the Journal of the History and Heritage Gallery of the Hassan bin Mohammed Center for Historical Studies.