Alhamdulillah now holds weight it did not hold for me before. The Alhamdulillah I say now is far different from the Alhamdulillahs I have ever said. Alhamdulillah - All praise and Thanks Belong to Allah. Alhamdulillah will never be the same again and I have the people of Palestine to thank for it.

O people of Palestine, thank you for teaching me what it truly means to embody hamd. Thank you for waking my slumbered heart. Thank you for your Alhamdulillah that made me realize the weightlessness of mine. Truly you are a people of hamd and I pray Ash-Shakur grants me faith and hamd like yours. I pray for every Alhamdulillah you say in pain, in tears, in loss and in grief, for every Alhamdulillah you utter, that it is an acceptance for your victory and a restoration of your dignity and honor.

In you I see an embodiment of the testament of Nabi Yusuf when he said:

“…Allah has truly been gracious to us. Surely whoever is mindful ˹of Allah˺ and patient, then certainly Allah never discounts the reward of the good-doers.” [12:90]

The oppressor may have robbed you of years with your loved ones, robbed you of your land, lives, homes, food and water but they cannot and will never be able to rob you of your hamd, your faith, your trust and your certainty in the promise of Allah! That alone is a testament to your victory and reward with Him to Whom All Praise and Thanks Belong - Alhamdulillah.

I pray for your ease and for the pain to pass quickly. In your moments of pain, I pray you find the mercy of Ar-Rahman. In grief, may you find forbearance in Al-Halim. In your sleepless nights amidst bombardment, I pray you find peace in As-Salam. In death, I pray you find life in Al-Hayy.

My prayer for you is that you are able to dream again and that you never have to display your suffering and on the world stage to prove your humanity. I pray you know that I see you, I hear you, I love you and I continue to bear witness. And I hope you never forget all the lives you have forever changed.

But more than anything, more than anything, this is my prayer for you - may He Who is swift in reckoning hasten the defeat and humiliation of your oppressor. May Al-Fattah open the gates to your victory. May Al-Jabbar, Al-Mu’id restore honor to your land. And I pray beseeching Al-Hamid, the One to whom All Praise and Thanks Belong, that your next Alhamdulillah will be in celebration of your victory.

With Love, Ibtisam