What is the religious ruling on marrying a righteous, religious, and Qur'an-memorizing girl, even though her parents and some of her relatives have a bad reputation? Is a man sinful if he goes back on his promise to marry her after deciding not to marry her? And what should he do regarding her?

If a young man and woman repent from their forbidden relationship, they are not obligated to fulfill their promise of marriage. However, fulfilling it is more befitting, unless there is harm in it. If the young man finds that the woman is not suitable for him, there is no blame upon him for not marrying her. If the woman is religious and of good character, and her repentance is sincere, then she does not bear the burden of her undisciplined relatives, for Allah says: "And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another," and "Every soul, for what it has earned, will be retained." If the young man ascertains her righteousness in faith and her uprightness, then let him marry her out of fulfillment of his promise and kindness to her.