Under classical faraid, often not — a surviving uncle can exclude them. Several Muslim-majority countries addressed this by statute with an obligatory bequest.
The Canadian position
Canadian anti-lapse provisions usually redirect a predeceased beneficiary's gift to their children.
So the two systems can produce opposite results for orphaned grandchildren.
The Islamic position
The classical position excludes a son's children where a son survives. It is not a gap the four schools disagree about.
The remedy scholars point to is the discretionary one third — provide for orphaned grandchildren there deliberately.
Under classical faraid, no. A surviving son of the deceased excludes his brother’s children entirely, in all four schools, on the rule that the nearer in degree shuts out the more remote. That is the classical answer, and it is the reason the case has been legislated on across the Muslim world in the twentieth century — and the reason it should be dealt with directly in a will here.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-09-01. Full positions, evidence and sources — A grandchild whose parent died first.
Related madhhab issue: The one-third cap on a bequest.
Making an Islamic will in Canada — province by province, and what makes one valid where you live →
This is one of the most emotionally difficult outcomes in faraid, and it is entirely fixable through the wasiyyah. Address it while drafting.
This is legal information only. For advice on your own circumstances, speak to a lawyer.
Citations & sources
Every factual claim on this page traces to a source below. Details change — check the original source before relying on any figure, fee or legal position. Anything under “further reading” is related material, not a source for what is stated here.
- Surah an-Nisa 4:11 — shares of children and parents — Quran.com
- Surah an-Nisa 4:12 — shares of spouses and uterine siblings — Quran.com
- Surah an-Nisa 4:176 — the kalalah verse — Quran.com
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 85: Laws of Inheritance (Faraid) — Sunnah.com
- Sahih Muslim, Book of Inheritance — Sunnah.com
- Egyptian Dar al-Ifta — Dar al-Ifta al-Missriyyah
- Research Papers — Cambridge Muslim College
- Beneficiary died before me ontario — Treadstone Law
- Do grandchildren inherit directly ontario intestacy — Treadstone Law
- What happens to a will if a beneficiary dies first — Treadstone Law
- Can children of deceased child inherit per stirpes ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law