She became Muslim and she has a daughter, and she is wondering about her chances of marrying a Muslim and some of the rulings on marriage

Praise
be to Allah

Your story is like the story of every new Muslim when the
light of Islam enters his heart and Allah, may He be glorified and exalted,
guides him to this great religion which is the last of all religions, which
completes the messages of the Prophets who came before it. In the beginning,
it is inevitable for the new convert to be faced with some measure of
objection from his environment and his relatives, but soon they come to
accept his new situation, little by little, when they realise that it is
wrong to regard freedom of opinion as applicable to every religion and group
on earth, except Islam.

But they must all learn that the faith of the Muslim cannot
be shaken by hopeless attempts to cut him off, and that when the Muslim
decides to turn to Allah, the Creator, the One True God, he is in fact
seeking the protection of Allah, may He be glorified. His heart is connected
to Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, and whoever depends on Allah, He
will suffice him, and whoever puts his trust in Allah, He will take care of
him.

Allah, may He be glorified, says (interpretation of the
meaning):

“And whosoever fears Allah and
keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every
difficulty).

And He
will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts
his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him. Verily, Allah will accomplish
his purpose. Indeed Allah has set a measure for all things”

[al-Talaaq 65:2-3]

“and whosoever fears Allah and
keeps his duty to Him, He will make his matter easy for him.

That is
the Command of Allah, which He has sent down to you, and whosoever fears
Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will remit his sins from him, and will
enlarge his reward”

[at-Talaaq 65:4-5].

So my advice to you is, in addition to your work, to strive
to learn Islam and develop an understanding of it, and to frequent Islamic
centres and Islamic organisations in your city, taking part in their
activities and benefiting from them, whilst striving to read widely and
become educated in this great religion, so that by means of this Islamic
education you may move from the stage of finding guidance and peace of mind
to the stage of calling others to Islam, explaining the religion to people,
and striving for the sake of spreading goodness on earth, and spreading the
word of truth, justice and love.

We are confident that if you focus on these matters, it is
guaranteed to remove what appears to us from your question to be weighing on
your mind and causing you distress, namely thoughts of the future and
worrying about your situation after being shunned by your relatives and
because of not being married.

We will draw your attention to some social measures that will
allow you to become involved in the Muslim community, and will help you to
get to know Allah and Islam more and more. Please note that life is life and
its stresses do not differ, no matter what religion one follows. Islam will
not increase your hardships and Christianity or Judaism will not protect you
from the stresses of life. Rather there are universal causes and effects
that impact all people, so you have to take whatever measures you can to
achieve worldly happiness and find ways to have some sense of security
through social activities and establishing a family.

What is stopping you from marrying an Arab Muslim, if that
option is available to you?

Why do you think it is impossible?

Marriage happens by the decree of Allah, when He makes the
means available and the individual takes permissible measures that may lead
to it. And there is nothing wrong – according to Islamic teaching, custom or
laws – with you striving to achieve that.

The fact that you had a daughter out of wedlock before you
became Muslim does not mean that in Islam you should never be allowed to get
married. Islam erases what came before it of sins, and it erases a person’s
earlier record of sins, so that the Muslim may start a fresh new page and
fill it with optimism and hope of the mercy of Allah, being enabled to get
married and live a peaceful life.

The fact that you do not have a Muslim guardian is also no
obstacle to you getting married, because Islam is too merciful and too wise
to prevent a girl from getting married just because her family have deserted
her or because the ties between her and them have been broken.

In a non-Muslim country, the imam of the Islamic centre can
take care of arranging your marriage, in the place of your guardian with
whom ties have been cut because of your having become Muslim when he is
still a disbeliever.

In such cases, the Islamic centre takes the place of the
shar‘i qaadi (judge) in cases of necessity such as yours. If there is a
Muslim suitor who is of good character and religiously committed – which is
what we hope for you in the near future, in sha Allah – then do not hesitate
to agree to marry him and to record the marriage is the nearest Islamic
centre. In fact it is not permissible for your non-Muslim guardian to do the
marriage contract for you, as has been explained previously in fatwas no.
152464, 208700 and
179219

It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah (3/387):

If a woman does not have a Muslim guardian, whether he is
closely or distantly related to her, then the head of your local Islamic
centre can do the marriage contract for her, because he takes the place of
the guardian in such cases, as the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) said: “The ruler is the guardian of the one who has no guardian.”
And the head of the Islamic centre is in a position of authority in his
locality, because there are no Muslim judges in that place. End quote.

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Baaz, Shaykh ‘Abd
ar-Razzaaq ‘Afeefi, Shaykh ‘Abdullah ibn Qa‘ood,

With regard to your daughter, her relationship with the one
whom you marry should be a relationship of love and respect, and there is
nothing wrong with her living with you, mixing with your husband or being
alone with him. She becomes his mahram if he consummates the marriage with
you, because Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says, explaining which
women are a man’s mahrams (interpretation of the meaning):

“your step daughters under your
guardianship, born of your wives to whom you have gone in – but there is no
sin on you if you have not gone in them (to marry their daughters)”

[an-Nisa’ 4:23].

Once the husband has consummated the marriage with the
mother, her daughter becomes a mahram to him, in which case he interacts
with her as he interacts with his own daughter.

If your husband is open-minded and you bring your daughter up
with a good attitude, and teach her to treat everyone with love and respect,
and you make provisions for her privacy and living arrangements, and you do
not fall short in taking care of her, then you deserve that for which you
are striving of a happy family life, by Allah’s leave. All of that may be
attained with the help of Allah, may He be exalted, if you strive to please
Him, and call upon Him and ask of Him at the times when it is hoped that
supplications will be answered, and following the obligatory prayers, asking
Him to make you steadfast in your faith and to relieve you of your worries.

We ask Allah to make you steadfast and to help and guide you.

Conclusion:

There is nothing wrong with you marrying an Arab Muslim and
striving to attain that by permissible means. That is not impossible, by the
grace of Allah, for His provision is abundant. It is not impossible for you
to establish a Muslim household where you can enjoy your life with your
future husband, in sha Allah, despite everything that you have mentioned of
your particular circumstances.

We urge you to get in touch with the Islamic centre in your
city and attend the activities that they organise. That will have a positive
effect on you, in sha Allah, as you will be able to meet Muslim sisters who
can help you and reduce your worries.

And Allah knows best.