Is it obligatory to pay for gifts, such as clothes and perfumes, sent by a woman who was to be proposed to, and after the engagement was called off, she did not demand them back, but hinted at her need for money?

The preponderant opinion is that what was taken from the woman must be returned, because it is likely that she gave it for the purpose of marriage, which did not materialize. Whoever bestows something for a specific purpose, and that purpose is not achieved, has the right to reclaim it. It is obligatory to sever ties with a non-mahram woman, as Islamic law does not approve of a relationship outside of marriage. Marriage to a woman of the People of the Book is permissible if she is chaste, but it is preferable to marry a Muslim woman of good religious character.