Had their claim been that she was born five years prior to the Prophetic mission...

Had their claim been that she was born five years prior to the Prophetic mission, her age after the Migration, when both men sought her hand, according to the consensus of historians, she would have been about 18 or 19. Nobody can say that such a person is too young to marry. It is narrated that the women of Quraish abandoned Khadija, may Allah have mercy on her, when she was pregnant with Fatima (sa), so Fatima (sa) used to talk to her and urge her to be patient[^7].

Some people may find it unlikely that Khadija could have been pregnant with Fatima (sa) five years after the inception of the Prophetic mission because Khadija (may Allah be pleased with her) was too old to get pregnant.

But this supposition is inappropriate because I have proven in my book titled Al-Sahih min Sirat al-Nabiyy al-A’zam (S) that her age then was about 50 years or, according to the strongest arguments, even less than that, although there is a great deal of disagreement in this regard.

It is also possible that her birth after her mother was past the child-bearing age was a blessing unto Khadija and unto the Messenger of Allah S, one similar to the woman who said, “Shall I bear a son while I am a very old woman and this husband of mine is a very old man?!” (Qur’an, 11:72). This is out of place because had it been so, it would have become widespread, but we find no references to it anywhere.

Another evidence is the Abundance of traditions explaining why she was named Fatima, among other names given her, which point out and prove that her name came from the heavens according to the orders of Allah, Exalted and Great is He. These are many in number, and they exist in many references, so refer to them[^8]. Who is Superior: Maryam or Fatima, peace with them both?

The question of who is superior, Maryam daughter of ‘Imran (sa) or Fatima (sa) daughter of Muhammed S, may be answered by some this way: “Such is useless knowledge. It neither benefits those who know it nor harms those who do not. It is an intellectual luxury item, or even nonsense or backwardness.” Then one may add saying, “Since there is no dispute in this regard between Maryam and Fatima, why should we dispute about it?

Fatima has her merits, and so does Maryam, and we see no problem here.” To me, I would like to say the following: FIRST: There is no doubt that al-Zahra’ (sa) is the best of all womankind, of the early generations as well as the later ones. As for Maryam, she was the head of the women of her time.