My favourite Muslim hero was Zubair Ibnu Awam. Simply because I read a comic book about him as a child.

He was in a number of successful campaigns and displayed intelligence in Badar, Uhud and the siege of a Byzantine fortress.

The tactics he used in the siege was quite good - according to the comic book. A war of attrition had started between Muslim forces and the Byzantine army holed up in the fortress.

So he ordered the siege to focus on one side of the fortress, crumbling the walls to make it easier to climb. And then, he made the soldiers march in a systematic retreat, so as to allay the fears of the Byzantine.

After the people celebrated, he then went on a commando raid one night on the crumbled walls, with the remaining Muslim forces charging in when the gates were opened.

It's simple, pretty straightforward and quite effective. I was surprised that it worked. Then again, this was like, 1,400 years ago. Of course it worked. Back then, if David Blaine existed, he would have been worshipped as a God.