Boxing ace Amir Khan and wife Faryal Makhdoom turn to Muslim holy man in last-ditch attempt to save their marriage
BOXER Amir Khan and his estranged wife Faryal Makhdoom have turned to a spiritual leader in a bid to save their marriage.
Pir Saqib Shaami, a Muslim holy man who delivers lectures in English and Urdu, told them they were both to blame for their extraordinary recent public bust-up.
Earlier this month, 30-year-old former world champion Khan announced his marriage split on Twitter – sparking a vicious war of words.
He accused Faryal of “moving on quick” by falsely claiming she had cheated on him with heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.
Now the couple are hoping Pir Shaami, an expert on Islamic Sharia law, will mediate their break-up during a series of planned meetings with the pair.
A family friend of the Khans said: “To Amir he explained what the rights of women are, what his wrongdoings were and why he should seek forgiveness.
“To Faryal he has said she has equal share to blame for deterioration of relations and that she has been wrong too.”
Two weeks ago Khan’s parents met Pir Shaami at his base in Birmingham where they asked him to pray for the “stability and strength” of their son.
Brooklyn-born Faryal, a science and journalism graduate, had asked to meet Pir Shaami alone but the holy man refused to see her in the absence of a male chaperone.
She later tweeted and then deleted: “I respect and trust Shaykh Saqib Shaami as much as Amir does.
“He has not been biased previously and will do justice.
“I also respect Shaykh Saqib Shaami’s Islamic position of not meeting women to stop spreading false rumours on social media”.
Friends of Khan said that he spoke to Pir Shaami repeatedly over recent months and expressed his desire to leave Faryal before taking her to Dubai on the Pir’s advice.
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The boxer was said to have told him the relationship was unhealthy, but the spiritual leader asked him to be patient and work it out.
Now Pir Shaami has told both that they should stop their public attacks and be patient.
The spiritual leader, who follows a school of mystic Islam called Sufism, has been providing guidance to the Khan family for years and has told both Amir and Faryal that they are equally to blame for their troubles.
The fighter sought “a spiritual explanation of his actions as a solace” after the Pir told him he had not been fair to Faryal.
The leader is understood to have told the couple that: “In Islam you are still married”.
Pictures of the private audience were later posted on Pir Shaami’s Instagram account.
Amir and Faryal married in 2013 at New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel, with rights to the £800,000 ceremony sold to a glossy mag.
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