Yes. Document the amount and whether it is paid or deferred, and keep the nikah contract with the will — unpaid mahr is an estate debt.
The Canadian position
Yes. Document the amount and whether it is paid or deferred, and keep the nikah contract with the will — unpaid mahr is an estate debt.
Provincial law governs administration, so confirm the position where the estate will actually be administered.
The Islamic position
The fixed shares apply to the net estate after funeral expenses, debts and any bequest capped at one third.
Where a Canadian mechanism has no classical counterpart, treat it as a contemporary question for a qualified scholar.
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.
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
- Research Papers — Cambridge Muslim College
- Research — Cambridge Muslim College
- Academics — Islamic law and theology curriculum — Zaytuna College
- Encyclopaedia of Islam — Brill
- Canadian Legal Information Institute — CanLII
- Dependants support claim probate avoidance assets ontario — Treadstone Law
- Electronic discovery ontario litigation — Treadstone Law
- Estranged adult child dependant support claim ontario — Treadstone Law
- Separated common law partner dependant support claim ontario — Treadstone Law
- Common law spouse dependant support claim ontario — Treadstone Law
- Lack of knowledge and approval will challenge ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law