Zayyad

11. The peninsula

Zayyad and the others didn't leave after Subh prayer. They stayed in the Salat grounds while the other soldiers went on their daily routines. Besides Ustaz Ali whom he was acquainted with, there were two more men there, but compared to Ustaz Ali, they looked more stern. 

The man with long hair walked forward to address them.

"Here in camp Rabi', just like other camps, we believe in diligence, hard work, obedience, and sacrifice. Every one of you here is ready to lay down their life for the sake of this deen, so I am sure you must be ready to do so." He began. 

"Also, this might be your thought but not everyone can do it at first, so you will be trained to do so. No one will send you to death. You will be trained by the seniors in different ways. And you must have seen how your seniors move in a well-behaved manner, so you have to learn from them too. In this army, everyone has the same rights. No one is above the law, so don't break it. If you do so, the leader will judge your case and if what you broke is Islamic law, you will be punished according to the Quran and Sunnah. Do you understand?" 

"Na'am!" The group answered. 

"Very good. My name is General Arafat. The man beside me is General Qais. And then Ustaz Ali." He introduced. "I will be responsible for your body training and initial army routines for now. General Qais will be your weaponry teacher while Ustaz Ali will teach you more about Islamic rulings on war and life. The time will be like today, one hour after subh and after isha." 

The group nodded. Two soldiers had moved a wooden board behind the generals already.

"Before we start anything, knowing the Arab peninsula is important. So, I want all of you to open your heart and listen carefully. " Arafat said and walked back to the board. He rolled the skin map on it, showcasing a landscape. 

A large red dot was at the top, a yellow smaller one by the left, and a blue dot at the right. 

"This red dot is Shams empire. The yellow is the gold empire while the blue is the Islamic states." Arafat stated. 

Zayyad already expected this. The power and space the Kafir had was so gigantic that it was thrilling. 

Arafat continued, "Don't be intimidated by their numbers because even if we aren't as much as them, the deterrence they face is huge as well. The Shams empire is controlled by the royal family of El-Nassif. Their main capital is Abyada. That is the core of the Kafirs. Surrounding Abyada are Al-Mitra, Bajahida, and Adlakan. All have large territories and are well protected. 

The Shams Empire worship idols and other beings but their main god is the sun. Their ancestors believed in and worshiped the sun and to date, they have a day designated for the special sacrifice to the sun. The Malik now even proclaims himself as the god of the empire. He will have strong political and military power. 

Abyada has three powerful legions. The head, the arms, and the legs. The head is the death troops, the personal army of the royal family. They have the best soldiers and weapons and are hardly sent to battle. 

The arms are Faylaqul dam'u and Faylaqul Shams. These two are feared troops that lead major wars against the Muslims. The legs are the army of night and the army of day. Both have special means and are trained that way. These five belong to Abyada and the other states have troops that are controlled to protect the Shams empire." 

It can't be helped that some people wavered. This was just a brief introduction. Their military achievements had not been stated. Zayad pursed his lips hearing those names. Faylaqul dam'u was the legion that destroyed the El-Hayats. The description his mother gave him of that troop was overwhelming, then what about the death troops? 

Arafat simply continued his explanation pointing at the yellow dot. "This is the gold empire. They maintain a neutral position in the war and are neither Muslim nor polytheistic. Many materials for making weapons are obtained from there. Abyada had been trying to pull the Gold empire under them but to no avail and they can't risk falling into war with them, if not it will be two against them." 

He then pointed at the blue dot.

"This is the Islamic state. This vast area was once deserted with few people leaving there. The Islamic State was formed from hijra and years of battling. The Muslims finally got a place to live peacefully. Noor al Islam is the main capital, ruled by the Ashraf family. Under it are Halalia and Jebed. Surrounding the capital are Khafeef and Yamran. The Islamic State has four camps, Camp Wahid in Halalia, camp Thaniy in Jebed, camp Thalith in Yamran, and Camp Rabi' here in Khafeef." 

Four against….Zayyad furrows his brows. The Islamic State must be more than that. 

"Kkafeef has the smallest territory and Camp Rabi' naturally has the smallest number of soldiers. Other camps are larger than this, housing hundreds of soldiers." Arafat said. "You might all be from different camps, but the Islamic State's soldiers have a single uniform and that is the white cloth and silver armor. Your uniforms are already sent to your tents as we speak now." 

Ustaz Ali then added, "This is just an introduction to the peninsula because these three regions are interconnected. I will teach you more about the places and sights of the battlefield."

"For now, before your breakfast, we  start training right away." Arafat smiled, but that smile wasn't kind at all. The group wondered what he had installed for them. 

General Arafat had them follow him to a vast field and what they could see was large boxes tied up with chains. The boxes were arranged in four roles, two facing each other. There were forty in total. 

"Listen up. 85 of you registered and 40 boxes are here. So I will count up to 10, the first 40 to occupy a box, get it. If someone is there, you have to relinquish it." Arafat informed. Without waiting for them to get ready, he shouted, "One! Two! Three!" The soldiers immediately ran out and before twenty seconds the boxes were occupied. 

"Stop!" Arafat shouted and they stopped. Those that didn't get a chance were crestfallen. 

"No need to worry. There are other boxes on the other side. Go over and a supervisor is there." Arafat said pointing to the right. The recruiter was astonished but still went ahead. He made them run for exercise and the group was now mixed up. 

Zayyad got blocked at the second role and he looked sideways to find his friends but none were there. His gaze matched them with his neighbor. It was the handsome man from yesterday. He had rare blue eyes with brown hair. He examined Zayyad too before smiling faintly. 

"Okay. Listen up!" Arafat called out.

"If you look at your boxes, there are two handles at the side. Pick it up and tie it to your waist. Your task is to pull the box to meet the person opposite you and then return it. You can rest when you need to eat, pray, and even sleep, but you need to know this. The box should be at its original spot before Monday evening." 

The task sounded simple because the boxes were just ten meters apart, but that was the case. 

"Alright. Go ahead and start. Anytime." Arafat said and walked away. 

"Hey. What's your name?", The young man beside Zayyad asked. 

"Zayyad." 

"I see. I'm Bilal Abdulazeez. Let's see who can finish first." The young man smiled and started tying his belt. 

Another competitor. Zayyad thought and tied his belt too. Bilal looked younger than everyone here and had a slim statue. Zayad wondered if he could pull that thing. 

"Why don't you start?" He offered 'kindly'.

"How hard can it be?" Bilal shrugged and pulled but not an ounce bulge. "Is this thing made of gold?" He grumbled. Zayyad tried and felt them right on his shoulders. He looked back astonished at the block of iron and examined its thickness. This was going to be a challenge indeed. 

Everyone felt this too. It won't be easy to go and come back in three days. 

"Ehm…this will be hard but we still have to pull. Go go go." Bilal hummed and added more strength to pull.

Zayyad ignored him and said another bismillah before adding strength to his arms and legs. With a slight sound, the box moved an inch.