Delay of marriage and its connection to al-qada’ wa’l-qadar
Question

                Does the delay of a girl’s marriage have anything to do with al-qada’ wa’l-qadar (the divine will and decree)? I am a girl who fears Allaah and I pray, but marriage has been delayed for me. Very few men have proposed marriage to me and all of them have faults, mostly in the area of religious commitment. I am asking: does the delay in marriage have any connection to the will and decree of Allaah or is it that I have committed a sin and Allaah is angry with me, although I fear Allaah greatly and Allaah has given me a share of beauty? I want to put my mind at rest by asking you.
Praise be to Allah.The Qur’aan and saheeh 
    Sunnah, and the consensus of the early generations of this ummah, indicate 
    that it is obligatory to believe in al-qadar (the divine decree), both good 
    and bad, and that this is one of the six basic principles of faith without 
    which a person’s faith is incomplete. Allaah says (interpretation of the 
    meaning): 

    “No calamity befalls on the earth or in yourselves but it 
    is inscribed in the Book of Decrees (Al‑Lawh Al‑Mahfooz) before We bring it 
    into existence. Verily, that is easy for Allaah”

    [al-Hadeed 57:22] 

    “Verily, We have created all things with Qadar (Divine 
    Preordainments of all things before their creation as written in the Book of 
    Decrees - Al‑Lawh Al‑Mahfooz)”

    [al-Qamar 54:49]
It was narrated from 
    ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet  
    (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, defining faith: “It is to 
    believe in Allaah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day and 
    to believe in the divine decree, both good and bad.” Narrated by Muslim, 8. 

    Everything that happens in the universe happens only by the 
    decree of Allaah, so the one who believes in al-qadar must believe that 
    Allaah knew all things before they happened, then He wrote that in al-Lawh 
    al-Mahfooz (the Book of Decrees), then He willed that they should be, then 
    He created them. These are the four well-known stages of al-qadar, and there 
    is evidence for each of these stages, as has already been explained in 
    detail in the answer to question no. 49004. 

    Marriage and whether it comes sooner or later, or is easy or 
    difficult, is all subject to the decree of Allaah. This does not mean that 
    the Muslim should not avail himself of the means that Allaah has decreed as 
    the steps leading to it, and applying the means does not contradict the idea 
    that a thing has been decreed from eternity. Man does not know what has been 
    decreed for him, but he is enjoined to apply the means. 

    The calamities that Allaah decrees for a person are good for 
    the believer if he bears them with patience and seeks reward for that, and 
    does not panic, as the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon 
    him) said: “How marvelous is the affair of the believer, for all his affairs 
    are good, and that does not apply to anyone except the believer. If 
    something good happens to him he gives thanks for it and that is good for 
    him. If something bad happens to him, he bears it with patience and that is 
    good for him.” Narrated by Muslim, 2999. 

    These calamities may be a punishment for sin, but that is not 
    necessarily the case. They may come in order to raise the believer in status 
    and increase his reward if he is patient and content… or there may be other 
    great reasons behind it. 

    Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) 
    was asked: 

    If a person is tested with sickness or a calamity that 
    strikes him or his wealth, how can he know whether that is a test or is a 
    sign of the wrath of Allaah? 

    He replied: 

    Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, tests His slaves 
    with good things and bad, with hardship and with ease. He may test them in 
    order to raise them in status and to increase their reward, as He did with 
    the Prophets and Messengers (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon them) and 
    the righteous slaves of Allaah. The Prophet  (peace and blessings of 
    Allaah be upon him) said: “The people who are most severely tested are the 
    Prophets, then the next best and the next best.” Sometimes Allaah does that 
    because of sins, so the punishment is hastened, as Allaah says 
    (interpretation of the meaning): 

    “And whatever of misfortune befalls you, it is because of 
    what your hands have earned. And He pardons much”

    [al-Shoora 42:30]
Usually people fall short 
    and fail to fulfil their duties, so whatever befalls them is because of 
    their sins and shortcomings in obeying the commands of Allaah. If one of the 
    righteous slaves of Allaah is tested with sickness and the like, this is 
    akin to the testing of the Prophets and Messengers which raises them in 
    status and increases their reward, so that they may be examples to others of 
    patience and seeking reward. 

    Conclusion: it may be a test in order to raise a person in 
    status and increase his reward, as Allaah does with the Prophets and some of 
    the elite, or it may be an expiation for sins, as Allaah says 
    (interpretation of the meaning): 

    “whosoever works evil, will have the recompense thereof”

    [al-Nisa’ 4:123]

    And the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon 
    him) said: “No tiredness, exhaustion, worry, grief, distress or harm befalls 
    a believer in this world, not even a thorn that pricks him, but Allaah 
    expiates some of his sins thereby.” 

    And he  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 
    “When Allaah wills good for a person, He afflicts him (with calamity so that 
    he may earn reward by bearing it with patience).” 

    That may also be a punishment that has been hastened because 
    of sins and a failure to hasten to repent, as stated in the hadeeth in which 
    the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When 
    Allaah wills good for a person, He hastens his punishment in this world, and 
    when He wills bad for a person, He withholds the (punishment) for his sins 
    from him until he comes to Him with that sin on the Day of Resurrection.” 
    Narrated and classed as hasan by al-Tirmidhi. End quote. 

    Majmoo’ Fataawa wa Maqaalaat, 
    4/370 

    As you refused to marry those who came and proposed to you, 
    for the sake of Allaah and because they are not adhering to Islam, Allaah 
    will compensate you with something better than them. Allaah says 
    (interpretation of the meaning): 

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

    3. And He will provide him from (sources) he never could 
    imagine”

    [al-Talaaq 65:2-3]

    And the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon 
    him) said: “You will never give up a thing for the sake of Allaah, may He be 
    glorified and exalted, but Allaah will compensate you with something that is 
    better for you than that.” Narrated by Imam Ahmad; classed as saheeh by 
    al-Albaani in Hijaab al-Mar’ah al-Muslimah, 47. 
You should turn to Allaah 
    with du’aa’ and acts of worship, and do not despair. Remember that the mercy 
    of Allaah is close to those who do good.

     And Allaah knows best.