Jaun Eliya was born on December 14, 1931 in an illustrious family of Amroha, Uttar Pradesh. His father, Allama Shafiq Hasan Elia, was deeply involved in art and literature and also an astrologer and a poet. He wrote his first Urdu couplet when he was just 8.
Jaun was very sensitive in his early teen age. His preoccupations in those days were his imaginary beloved character, 
During his youth, the united India was involved in a Muslim-Hindu feud, which led to the partition of the country on religious lines once British rule ended. Being a Communist, Elia was averse to the idea, but finally accepted it as a compromise. Elia migrated to Pakistan in 1957, and made Karachi his home. Before long, he became popular in the literary circles of the city. His poetry, which bears ample testimony to his wide-ranging reading habits, won him acclaim and approbation.
His first poetry collection Shayad (an Urdu word which means "Maybe") was published when he was 60. The poetry presented in this collection added Jaun Elia's name in the Urdu literary forever.. The second collection of his poetry Ya'ani was published in 2003 and the third titled Gumaan (an Urdu word which means "Illusion") in 2004.
He also edited Urdu literary magazine "Insha", where he came to know of another prolific Urdu writer Zahida Hina, and finally married her.
Jaun Elia died at a friend's place as his wife and children didn't realise his He died after a protracted illness on November 8, 2004 in Karachi.