Shihab Chottur

About

Social media star who rose to fame after declaring his intent to perform the annual pilgrimage of Hajj to Makkah by foot in 2022. The trek from his hometown of Kerala, India leads through Pakistan, Iran, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia and will span over 8460 kilometers. His self-titled YouTube channel has gained over 1.4 million subscribers, as he documents his daily travels in a video series entitled "A Dream Journey by Foot."

Before Fame

He is a medical doctor and owns a shopping mall in his hometown. He expressed that it was his childhood wish to make this journey by foot, inspired by the stories his mother told him of ancient people traveling from far and wide to perform Hajj.

Trivia

When he reached Punjab, he was stopped from entering Pakistan for not having the proper transit visa paperwork. He ended up staying at the Aafiyah Kids School at Khasa, Amritsar for 4 months and 9 days waiting for the visa to be approved until he could continue on his journey once again.

Family Life

He is married to his wife Sabbana Chottur, with whom he has 2 children.

Associated With

Although he is the first to make such a journey on foot, other notable devout Muslim figures who have also traveled to Makkah in order to perform the Hajj include Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali.