Islamic wills in Canada: the complete guide
How wasiyyah and faraid work, why Canadian intestacy rules rarely match them, and what makes a will both Shariah-aligned and legally valid here.
Read the guide →Plain-language guidance on Islamic wills, inheritance shares, probate and executor duties — written for families here, under Canadian law. No jargon, no fees, no login.
Three pieces that take you from "I know I should sort this out" to knowing your next step — in the order we'd read them.
How wasiyyah and faraid work, why Canadian intestacy rules rarely match them, and what makes a will both Shariah-aligned and legally valid here.
Read the guide →The role in plain terms: your legal duties in Ontario, the diligent-search obligation, and how the janazah timeline collides with the paperwork.
Read the guide →Beneficiary designations on registered accounts and insurance pass outside the estate — and can quietly override a perfectly drafted Islamic will.
Read the guide →Will figures from the Angus Reid Institute; population from the 2021 Census of Canada. Ontario has no central registry of wills, which is why a private one exists.
The Ilm Hub is being built out section by section. Everything here is free to read, and always will be.
What a Shariah-aligned will contains, the one-third bequest rule, and how to keep it valid under Canadian law.
13 in-depth guides →How fixed shares are calculated, who inherits what, and where the schools of thought differ.
Calculate your shares →What probate actually is, what an estate trustee must do, and the personal liability executors take on.
The Executor's Guide →Why wills go missing, what "presumed revoked" means, and how a diligent search is documented.
How to find a will →The rules genuinely differ. Ontario, BC, Alberta and Quebec each handle wills and registries their own way.
Find your province →A practical checklist for the days when everything happens at once — burial, paperwork, and the will.
Printable checklist →RRSPs, TFSAs and life insurance pass outside your will. What that means if you intend faraid shares.
Read the guide →"My ___ died and ___ is alive — who gets what?" Real scenarios worked through, with the arithmetic shown.
20 worked cases →Wasiyyah, faraid, probate, intestacy, estate trustee — every term you'll meet, defined plainly.
221 terms →Answers to what families actually ask — and if yours isn't here, send it in.
501 answers →Most people arrive here in the middle of something. Find the sentence that sounds like yours.
Wills get lost — lawyers retire, firms close, families move. If the original can't be located, the law may treat it as revoked and divide the estate by a default formula instead.
What to do when a will can't be found →You're responsible for administering the estate — and you can be held personally liable if you get it wrong, including if you fail to search properly for a will.
Read the executor guide →Usually yes — but only if it can be found, and only if life hasn't changed in ways that affect it. Marriage, divorce and new children all matter.
Does it still count? →Usually not. A beneficiary designation on a registered account or insurance policy passes outside the estate and overrides what the will says.
Read the guide →British Columbia allows adult children to apply to vary a will that didn't adequately provide for them — and courts have varied wills that relied on cultural or religious reasoning.
Can it be challenged? →Canada gives you broad testamentary freedom, so a will can follow faraid shares. The work is in drafting it so it's valid here and can actually be found later.
The full path →Yes — entirely. No account, no paywall, no email required to read anything. The Hub exists because most families only learn how any of this works at the worst possible moment.
This is legal information only. For advice on your own circumstances, speak to a lawyer.
Inheritance rules are broadly agreed across the major schools, but they differ in specific cases. Where they diverge, the Hub says so rather than picking for you — and points you to a scholar for your own situation.
Most people own more than they think once a home, vehicle, registered accounts and insurance are counted. A will also names guardians for minor children — often the single most important thing in it.
Continuously. The library now covers the fixed shares, the four madhahib, every Canadian province and territory, the executor process, a glossary, worked case studies and a calculator — and it grows as questions come in.
If you have a will, register it so it can be found. If you're administering an estate, search the registry. If you're somewhere in between, just ask us.