For most families, no — the core shares are identical across the four Sunni schools. It matters in a handful of specific configurations, and in those it can change outcomes completely.
The Canadian position
Canadian law does not recognise any madhhab. A court gives effect to whatever the will says. So the school matters for what you instruct your lawyer to write, not for enforceability.
The Islamic position
The four schools agree on the spouse's shares, the parents' shares, the 2:1 ratio between sons and daughters, and the one-third bequest cap.
They differ on the grandfather inheriting alongside siblings, on whether distant relatives inherit, on radd, and in named cases such as the Mushtaraka.
One school against three. Abu Hanifa treats the grandfather exactly as a father: the brothers and sisters take nothing. Malik, al-Shafi’i and Ahmad — and, inside the Hanafi school itself, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad — follow Zayd ibn Thabit: the grandfather inherits with them, sharing as though he were one of the brothers, but never taking less than a guaranteed minimum. There is no verse and no hadith fixing the answer; the Mawsu’a says so in terms, and the rule rests on Companion ijtihad.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-09-01. Full positions, evidence and sources — Does a grandfather exclude the deceased’s brothers and sisters?.
Related madhhab issue: Dhawu al-arham — do distant kin inherit?.
Related madhhab issue: Radd — the return of a surplus to the fixed-share heirs.
Related madhhab issue: The mushtaraka case — do the full brothers share the uterine siblings’ third?.
Making an Islamic will in Canada — province by province, and what makes one valid where you live →
Do not assemble a plan from several schools at once. Mixing positions — talfiq — can produce a distribution no school would accept.
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
- Encyclopaedia of Islam — Brill
- Research Papers — Cambridge Muslim College
- Capacity to instruct a lawyer ontario — Treadstone Law
- Cross examining drafting lawyer will dispute ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law