Fawad Khan opens up about his spiritual journey of performing Hajj

Fawad Khan is now a proud Haji who completed his first Hajj, and of course, he can’t help but love the experience!

In an interview with Arab Times, Fawad opened up about his first-hand experience of performing Hajj and how it rekindled his childhood memories from that time. The singer turned actor was one of the fortunate ones to be hosted by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Media while he performed his religious pilgrimage, this year.

“Being one among 2.4 million people is the easiest thing on earth,” he admitted. “You feel comfortable because you are in the same space with other people who bare their hearts to God. You feel like any other person among them.”

“It feels nice to be a face in the crowd,” he continued, “In a way, it is very refreshing. People during Hajj are so busy and caught up in what they are doing that they don’t have time for these things. They are very considerate. They are very careful about what they are doing.”

Fawad, being a little on the shy side says he feels scared at times given the adulation he receives from his fan from all over the world.

“When I wake up, I feel just as human as all people do,” he said. “When I see such a massive outpouring of affection and adulation, I feel frightened since being elevated to such a position is something to be feared. It is an honour, yes, but I also feel afraid because the responsibilities are greater.”

The actor also revealed how he spent part of his childhood in Riyadh, where his father was posted.

“I was in Riyadh from 1986 to 1992 as a child and my mother would insist on performing Umrah every year with the family.”

The holy experience of visiting the Holy Ka’aba in Makkah’s Grand Mosque evoked some beautiful memories for Fawad from his childhood

“It reminded me of my childhood,” he said. “I really enjoyed the time when I was growing up. When I left Riyadh, I was sad because those were my formative years. I had a feeling of nostalgia. I remember as a child when performing Umrah, there wasn’t much rush or traffic. The running between Safa and Marwa as part of the ritual was more like a game because I would race with my sister at that time and being there again brought all those memories back.”

On recalling the highlight from Hajj, Fawad shared his heartfelt experience, “ It was all very spiritual. I remember on the night before the trek to Arafat, there was wind blowing and it suddenly started raining, and lightning was streaking the sky. It was humbling and it felt like someone from on high was talking to us.”