What is the ruling on a strange man embracing the daughter of friends—especially if she is an orphan—and is it permissible for this girl to consider her friend's father as her own, knowing that she is a recent convert to Islam and is striving to adhere to Sharia?

Congratulating your sister on embracing Islam, for it is a great blessing through which she attains the happiness of this world and the Hereafter, and she must remain steadfast and be grateful for this blessing.

And showing gratitude is a noble trait. Her appreciation for the head of the family and her respect for him are good, but this does not make him a legal father to her. It is not permissible for her to allow him to touch her, embrace her, be in seclusion with her, or abandon the hijab in front of him.

She must be advised on this matter in a kind manner and at an appropriate time.

It is necessary to help her and search with her for a righteous man to marry, which will remove her from this awkward situation. If she is married to a non-Muslim man, then if he embraces Islam before her waiting period ('iddah) ends, their marriage remains valid; otherwise, she becomes irrevocably separated from him.