Khvajeh Mohammad Safavi was a son of Shaykh Junayd, leader of the Safavid order (1447–1460), born by a Circassian concubine.[1] He was an older (half)-brother of Shaykh Haydar, the successor of Shaykh Junayd as leader of the Safavid order, and therefore an uncle of the founder of the Safavid dynasty, Ismail I (r. 1501–1524).[1] He had another brother named Khvajeh Jamshid, who was killed in southern Dagestan during one of Shaykh Haydar's campaigns.[1] Khvajeh Mohammad's only surviving sister, Shah-Pasha Khatun, was married to Mohammad Beg Talish, a military chief from Khalkhal who would later become guardian (laleh) to Ismail I and play a pivotal role in his ascension to power in the early 16th century.[1][2]