Islamic law does not permit removing a fixed heir's share. Canadian law generally permits disinheritance, but with real exceptions — and in British Columbia the exception is wide.
The Canadian position
Ontario protects testamentary freedom strongly; the Court of Appeal in Spence v. BMO Trust upheld a will disinheriting a daughter. A dependant support claim remains possible where the child was being supported.
British Columbia is different. Section 60 of WESA lets a child — including an independent adult child — apply to vary a will that failed to make adequate provision.
The Islamic position
Fixed heirs cannot be excluded by the testator. Their shares are set by the Qur'an, and the discretionary third cannot be used to give them more or to take their share away.
The four Sunni schools are not recorded as differing materially on this point in the sources reviewed. Where your own case turns on it, put it to a scholar of your school.
A faraid distribution is not disinheritance, but it does treat sons and daughters unequally. In BC that unequal treatment is exactly what a section 60 claim targets.
General information, not legal or religious advice. Inheritance depends entirely on the exact family circumstances. Confirm the Canadian position with a lawyer in your province and any religious ruling with a qualified scholar.
Citations & sources
Every factual claim on this page traces to one of the references below. Legislation and dollar thresholds change — verify against the primary source before relying on any figure.
- 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
- Research Papers — Cambridge Muslim College
- Research — Cambridge Muslim College
- Academics — Islamic law and theology curriculum — Zaytuna College
- Encyclopaedia of Islam — Brill
- Grewal v. Litt, 2019 BCSC 1154 — CanLII
- Wills, Estates and Succession Act, SBC 2009, c 13 — BC Laws
- Canadian Legal Information Institute — CanLII
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