Zayyad

10. To the recruits.

The moon shone upon the soldiers in camp Rabi' as they prayed maghrib. 

"Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah, AssalamuAlaikumm wa rahmatullah!" The imam said the Salam and the group chorus the same behind him.  

"Allahu Akbar. Astagfirullah. Astagfirullah. Astagfirullah! Allahumma antas-salam waminkas-salam, tabarakta ya thal-jalali wal-ikram!" The next line took the recruits by surprise, and it coincided with most of their lips as it was the first du'a to say after prayer. To think that the army prayed together. Cooperation and discipline. 

The prayer continued.

The imam soon stood up and faced the crowd. 

"Assalamu alaikum to you all once again. Today Camp Rabi' welcomes recruits from Khafeef state. We pray to Allah that as they arrive here safely, they become a pillar of our camp and the Muslims in general. " 

"Ameen!"

"The recruitment was successful but despite the escorts, someone from Ridiyya was attacked. No need to worry. Alhamdulillah, he is in good hands now. " The Imam took Zayyad by surprise, and so were the others. The Kafir definitely did this but why didn't they go for a large-scale attack but just a single person? 

"Our question now is why they attacked a single person and not the whole entourage?" The Imam asked a question everyone was wondering. 

"To scare the army," Zayyad muttered silently. 

"Say it then," Husein smiled beside him since the group was quiet. The old soldiers might know but they left the answer to the recruits. 

"You do it," Zayyad returned. Husein shrugged and raised his hand. Someone from behind did the same. 

"The young man with a yellow scarf, first." The imam pointed at Husein. The young man wrapped a scarf around his neck, and so was Hassan, but his own was blue. From sighting them, one will know that they are twins. 

"Because they wanted to scare the camp." He replied loudly.

"Masha Allah. " the Imam nodded before pointing at the guy behind. He was covered with dust but his handsome face couldn't be hidden. He was also young like Zayyad and his peers. 

He parted his lips and spoke, "They might have done that to scare the army and they know that they can escape. So the attacker must be an expert. " 

"Who asked for more details?" Hussein whispered, rolling his eyes. 

"He is right. I doubt that's the only reason. Wouldn't that be childish?" Zayyad shook his head.

"Jazakallah khair, both of you. What you said is right." the Imam smiled. "They wanted to instill fear in the hearts of the recruits but I'm sure none of you were disheartened. The attacker they sent was a skilled archer, if not it won't be easy to attack you. Also, they did this to introduce the threat to us and also their new weapon." 

"You hit it on point," Hussein tapped Zayyad. 

"Stay quiet." His brother berated. 

The imam continued, "You all must be tired, so tonight will be a night of rest. Those from Amatra arrive first, so you can get to know the camp better before Isha while the rest can refresh themselves first. The old soldiers can welcome them too. Salam." 

After saying this, he sat down. 

The new arrivals left for their camp while the others got mixed. Some knew each other and even had family here. 

"No one you know?" Adnan asked the twins. All of them knew Zayyad was alone, so he didn't ask. 

"Our father is a merchant. We did have an uncle in the army but he passed away, remember?" Hassan replied.

"Yeah. May his soul rest in peace. Amin." Adnan smiled. "My father is here but I don't know how we can look for him." 

"He will look for you instead," Husein said. Adnan nodded and the four sat together. Some soldiers came to welcome them and it didn't take long for a man with a resemblance to Adnan to come over. 

"Father!" Adnan exclaimed excitedly and hugged his father. 

"Masha Allah. You are okay." The man, Rajab, laughed heartily. It had been months since he went back home. 

"Everyone says hello from home." Adnan smiled. 

"Alright. I will see them soon." Rajab tapped his son's shoulder and glanced at the rest. "Welcome to camp Rabi' boys." 

"Good evening, " the three greeted. 

"Masha Allah. We will be together then for now. Don't worry, the camp is safe. Challenging but fun." Rajab said and they nodded. He stayed with them as they chatted a little before Isha. The other group had returned by now and everyone prayed together before returning to their tents. 

Zayyad and his friends came back to their tents and retired to their respective beds. 

"I miss my mother," Hussein whined. 

"Must you show everyone that you are a child?" Hassan hissed from across him.

"Stop pretending that you don't." Husein snorted. Adnan sighed at their bickering and said his dust turned off his lantern, before closing his eyes. 

Zayyad opened his bag and took out the mushaf and started reciting silently. Some minutes later, he prayed and lay down. He was tired but his head drifted to his Ummiy. How he missed his mother. He wondered what she was doing now, or how she was without him. He soon drifted into sleep with these thoughts.