If a man intends to propose to a woman, but circumstances prevent him, and another man proposes to her, then when the first man learns of this, he sends a message to the girl informing her

The questioner : I have a relative who lives near us with her family, and I used to visit them due to my kinship with them. They noticed that I had a desire to propose to this girl after I finished my university studies, and she knew this. However, after I finished my studies, I joined the army to perform military service, so the periods of my absence from visiting them became longer. On one of the occasions when I was away, one of my relatives proposed to this girl. Due to my absence, she agreed to the proposal. As soon as I learned what had happened, I secretly sent one of the relatives to clarify my position to her, explaining that my absence was due to an excuse beyond my control. She rejected the person who had proposed to her, and this rejection happened before anything was done. At that time, I was not performing the prayer, and my religious reading was limited and my knowledge of jurisprudential rulings was shallow. In any case, after she annulled her engagement, this relative of mine went and proposed to another girl and wrote her marriage contract. As for me, Allah guided me to the straight path, and I began to pray and read with interest in books of jurisprudence and hadith. Until I read a hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in which he forbids a man from proposing to a woman who is under the proposal of his brother. Here I began to feel regret for what I did out of ignorance, and also due to the whispering of Satan. While I strive in worship and call upon Allah to accept my repentance and forgive me for what I did, my question is: I traveled to the Kingdom immediately after this matter, and the girl is still waiting for me to return and propose to her. But I do not know what is correct from the perspective of the Shari'ah so that I do not make a mistake again. So, should I propose to her or not? And is there any sin on me for what I did?

The Shaykh : Since you have repented to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and when you informed her that you wanted her after the first man had proposed to her, until she rejected marriage to him, then there is nothing on you, given that you were ignorant of this ruling. The right of the man who proposed has now ceased due to her rejection, and he too has been blessed by Allah and has married. So, continue with this woman and contract the marriage with her, and there is no blame in that. We ask Allah to turn to us and to you in repentance.

The questioner : O Allah, amen. May Allah bless you.