“‘O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Was This Our Agreement?’ The Albanian of Madinah Shareef
A young man was arrested beside the Rawdah of the Prophet ﷺ.
Four police officers arrested a young man near the blessed Rawdah of the Prophet ﷺ. Without saying a word, they immediately tied his hands behind his back with a rope.
The young man kept asking, “What have I done? I’m neither a thief nor a criminal. Why are you treating me like this?”
An elderly man had been watching the entire scene from a distance. He approached the officers and said, “I know this young man.”
The police asked, “How do you know him?”
The elderly man replied, “I always see him standing or sitting in front of the Prophet’s ﷺ Rawdah, sending salutations (salawat), offering salam, and weeping. Why have you arrested him? Is he a thief?”
The young man was an Albanian, around 35 or 36 years old, with shoulder-length hair and a light beard.
The police replied, “No, he is not a thief. He is from Albania and has been living in Madinah for six years without legal residency documents. We have tried many times to deport him back to Albania, but every time we arrest him, he somehow escapes. We always find him again in the Prophet’s Mosque. This time, we had no choice but to tie him up immediately.”
The elderly man asked, “What will you do with him now?”
They answered, “We will enforce the law. We are taking him to the airport and putting him on a plane back to Albania.”
The young man wept, realizing that this time he might truly have to leave the city of Madinah—the city filled with the memories of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
After a while, he pleaded with the officers:
“Please understand. I do not steal, rob, deceive, or harm anyone. I came here only out of love for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. I have no worldly purpose.”
The officers replied, “That is not enough. According to the law, you must return to your country. Foreigners cannot remain here without legal permission.”
As they escorted him out of Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, the young man made one final request. The officers allowed him.
He looked toward the Green Dome and, overcome with emotion, cried out:
هل هكذا كان الاتفاق بيننا؟!
“O Messenger of Allah! Was this our agreement? I left my business, my family, and my parents so that I could become your neighbor, but now they will not let me stay.”
As he uttered these words, he collapsed to the ground.
The officers initially thought he was pretending to faint so he could escape again. But when they lifted him up and poured water on his face, he did not respond.
One officer exclaimed, “Perhaps he has suffered a stroke or a heart attack. Call an ambulance immediately!”
An ambulance arrived and took him to the hospital. After examining him, the doctor said:
“He passed away about an hour and a half ago.”
The officers broke down in tears, saying:
“By Allah, while carrying out our duty, we never realized the depth of this man’s love for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.”
After he was washed, prayed over, and prepared for burial, he was taken to Jannat al-Baqi’ and buried there.
The young man who was supposed to depart for Albania instead departed for Jannat al-Baqi’, leaving behind a moving example of love for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
