"Please avoid Arif Hajj at all costs"

Please avoid Arif Hajj and Umrah at all costs. He is a money greedy individual! After he takes your money he will avoid you and ignore your questions. His brother Mahfooz was always swearing whilst in ihram. Please avoid the disappointment and book hajj with another group!

"Outstanding service by brother Altaf and his team"

I would like to start by thanking Brother Altaf and his Team (Mahfooz, Khalid & Nadeem) for the help and support they provided during the days of HAJJ 2023.

What a truly amazing experience it was!!

Brother Altaf helped from the very start to the very end.

For the whole time we were out in the Kingdom, Altaf made sure we were ok. We did not feel at any time that he neglected any of us. The team was there for us throughout.

Once again What an amazing experience it was, May Allah swt bless Altaf and his Team for the hard work they do to ensure all of us get to go to HAJJ.

Afzal & Naila.

P.S. sorry for the late review.

"Uncle Altaf at Arif Hajj and Umrah"

Uncle Altaf and the team at Arif Hajj and Umrah took us on the most beautiful journey of our lifetime. Without a shadow of a doubt, the most perfect Hajj anyone could have. They made everything so hassle-free. Every aspect of the trip was as they had described and they went above and beyond for us. After all the horror stories, we were naturally concerned but I have nothing but good words and praise for Uncle Altaf and Mahfouz. Thank you for making our Hajj so personalised and memorable. 5/5 falls short of what Arif Hajj and Umrah deserve. A quick shout out to uncle Nadeem Malik too for joining the team and keeping us in the right direction. I highly recommend them for any Hajj and Umrah trip and rest assured that you’ll be looked after as a member of their family and not just a transaction/customer.

"I recently travelled to hajj with this…"

I recently travelled to hajj with this group and it was the best experience of my whole life time . It was truly a once in a lifetime experience which was very blessed and beautiful . Arif brother took care of us through each step and guided us throughout the whole journey . The hotels provides were 5 star very close to the haram . I would definitely recommend booking with this Arif hajj and umrah as they were very organised and helpful .

"Hajj 2023 Review"

I waited till now (11/8/23) to write a review for Altaf Arif, Mahfooz Arif, Khalid Rashid, and Nadeem so that I could let the experience of Hajj with them really sink into my soul.
In short, I am extremely grateful to these four men because I have successfully completed my Hajj with my wife. And on the whole, we did have a 5-star experience, staying in Swissotel in Makkah part of the clock tower complex and in Madinah, we were in Pullman Zamzam.
Yes, there were some issues during the Hajj days, but I didn't get a sense that the issues were created by Altaf and his group. Anyone looking to go on Hajj should know in advance that during the 5 days of Hajj, you can expect to pay up to 500% more, for everything, compared to any other time.
My wife and I feel we have made lifelong friendships while on Hajj.
I have no hesitation in recommending Altaf Arif and his team. They were all very friendly, approachable, and helpful. Thank you.

"Hajj 2023:"

Hajj 2023

Negatives and how they could improve:

1) The tour guides should have one of their female relatives with them on Hajj who can be responsible for the Sisters side. Or if they can't do that, they should appoint any sister who has a mahram in the brothers side that can be the point of contact for any issues. It is inappropriate for the tour guides younger brother to be walking in and out of the sisters tents and being their first point of contact. To be fair, Altaf did announce a few times that the sisters were complaining that men were outside their tent but I don't think he realised it was his own brother.

2) The tour guide had some 'helpers' from Pakistan who were charging people 1,000 to 2,000 riyals (£225-450) to push people in wheelchairs for 2-3 hours. So if someone needed their help for the 3 days of stoning they would need to fork out in total £1,000-£1,500. Would see these helpers give massages to Altaf and his brother Mahfuz all the time and to top it off we were asked to donate towards these 'helpers'. I think they helped themselves enough. When we told Altaf about the prices his "helpers" were charging he justified it.

If you really want to be of help to the Hajjis you should tell your workers to ask for reasonable prices and not allow them to take advantage of vulnerable people who have already spent tens of thousands of pounds to visit the blessed lands.

3) The tour guides should interact more with the people in the group. Instead the tour guides stuck to their little groups of people they already knew or from their same town. There will be people in the group who are elderly, ill, and anxious. Just checking up on them every now and again will go a long way. Instead, what actually happened was everyone was left to it, it was pretty much every man for themselves.
One elderly couple got lost on the days of stoning, when Altaf was told there was no urgency from him to do anything. The children of the elderly couple were left to find them themselves.

4) Hotels, food, amenities etc were not good enough. Felt like shortcuts were taken to save money. There were people we knew who went from Pakistan who paid a third of the price and had a similar service to us, if not, better in some instances. Some had better transport, better food, less people in tents etc.

5) We asked Altaf 6 weeks before Hajj if we could catch the train to Madinah sharif instead of via coach. At times he would say its not allowed then sometimes he would say he would find out. Then as the days were approaching before we were meant to go he said it won't be possible because the Saudi authorities had to process and take our passports if we caught the train. And that it was possible that they could get lost somewhere in the system. So we thought fair enough. Then the night before he calls us to the lobby saying you can go on train. By which time the prices had doubled and only business class available. A week or so later we see him post videos on his WhatsApp status of himself catching the train. He kept us in the dark for 6 weeks for no reason.

Positives:

1) Having Shaykh Muhammad Aslam in the group. This was the best thing the tour guide did. Having a scholar like Shaykh Aslam was very beneficial.

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In conclusion, if you are going with family or elderly/ill people, probably would avoid travelling with these guys for the reasons mentioned above but if you are going solo it's only worth using these guys if Shaykh Aslam is travelling that year.

I hope Altaf can take this feedback on board. I did not want to leave this negative rating but I think its important that others are aware of what to expect if they decide to go with this agent.

"Hajj Review"

I went on an Umrah package through Arif Hajj & Umrah Services a couple of years ago and knew brother Altaf would be the best person to speak to about Hajj with his many years of experience. He helped from the very first stage of registering myself and my wife’s profile on Nusuk to completing Hajj.

Brother Altaf was always available for any help and questions I had during the application process. He held regular webinars which provided updates and guidance. He also arranged a very informative seminar with Shaykh Aslam which was definitely needed as it provided us with lots of knowledge on what the days of Hajj would entail.

Completing Hajj was the most life changing and amazing experience of our lives. The guides (brothers Altaf, Mahfooz and Nadeem) were extremely helpful. They were with us every step of the way and it was reassuring knowing we had them if we had any issues.

Brother Altaf also arranged for Shaykh Mohammed Aslam to accompany the group on Hajj which was amazing as the spiritual guidance would not have been the same without him.

We met some wonderful people on our journey and have come back as a family.
May Allah swt reward the guides and Shaykh Aslam for their exceptional service and guidance. I highly recommend Arif Hajj & Umrah services if you are planning to go for Umrah or Hajj.

"Great experience"

Very professional team with many years of experience, know exactly all the ins and outs how to make Hajj and Umrah a great journey.

"Great service provider"

Was given this company’s number by a friend. From the start the service was amazing. Very informative and up to date. Problems that could happen were discussed and how to avoid them. Once there it got even better. Great service the group had team leaders ours was Nadeem Malik absolute gentleman and fantastic. Alhumdolilah our hajj was completed and our journey went on to madinah. All ziyarats were done in comfort. I would highly recommend this company and will definitely use them again.

"HAJJ 2023"

Went hajj 2023 at the seminar was promised everything help for people with mobilitys also transport to help the people who had walking problems but the minute we got there was no help wat so ever every one was left to help themselves the group leaders were no were to be seen also there is a issue wat needs addressing about group leaders going into women tents there should be women team leader for women tents in mina and arafaat there is also a very big problem about altaf and his helpers charging ridiculous amounts of money for his helpers to push wheelchairs the fees they charge are extortionate amounts when people who have disabilities are most vulnerable and desperate I no altaf tries to justify these charges but the amounts involved are shocking but people have no choice but to agree ie 700 to 2000 riyal to push a wheelchair [shocking] I believe these chargers are fixed by altaf THE quality of coaches are old wen u are promised everything and help but when you get to makkah u are left to do everything thing yourselfs there is no such thing as a group I advise anyone in the future going on hajj if u have any mobilitys are health conditions to take your own wheel chair or buy one wen u get to Saudi Arabia I no altaf always says its out of my control and its the Saudis and we don't no wat to expect I don't belive this to be true I no he is one of a few people who is licenced to take groups to hajj so it's not all Saudis fault this review is make future hajjis aware don't expect everything he says I could carry on but just be aware once u get there you are on your own. Him and his family have been in this business for a long time as he says but no help I also belive there is a wats app group going around about arif hajj and umra