Is the first buyer entitled to reclaim the down payment after refusing to complete the sale, and is the sale to the second buyer legitimate, given that the first buyer refused to complete the amount offered to him for the purchase of the property, which was later sold to another buyer?

We have previously explained the scholarly disagreement regarding the ruling on earnest money (بيع العربون). The preponderant opinion is that the seller is not permitted to dispose of the earnest money until the buyer's rejection of the purchase is confirmed, because the sale is binding from the seller's side. If the property is still available, the first buyer has only two options: either pay the remaining price and complete the sale, or refuse the sale, in which case he loses the earnest money. As for selling the property to another buyer before the first sale is completed or rejected, it is an invalid sale because it is selling what the seller does not own. The earnest money discussed by jurists is that in which the price is agreed upon first, then the buyer pays a portion of it to be counted as part of the price if the sale is completed, or to go to the seller if the sale is not completed. As for what is common now, which is paying an amount to reserve an item without agreeing on the price, it is not earnest money and does not take its ruling. Finally, such disputes should be referred to the Sharia (definition) courts.