Not in the common-law provinces. Proper witnessing is what matters, plus an affidavit of execution.
The Canadian position
Quebec is different — a notarial will is one of three recognised forms and requires no probate.
A notarised but improperly witnessed will is still invalid in Ontario.
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 scholar rather than assuming an answer.
No school requires a lawyer, a notary or any set form: a wasiyyah is made by words, and the four are agreed that a written one operates exactly as a spoken one does. Where they part company is on who may make one — the Hanafi and Shafi’i schools require adulthood, the Maliki and Hanbali schools only discernment — and on what a document found in the deceased’s handwriting proves. Sound mind, freedom and a free will are conditions in all four, and all four let a testator revoke at any time.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-09-01. Full positions, evidence and sources — Making a wasiyyah — form, capacity and revocation.
Making an Islamic will in Canada — province by province, and what makes one valid where you live →
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.
- Succession Law Reform Act, RSO 1990, c S.26 — Government of Ontario
- Administering estates — Government of Ontario
- Civil Code of Québec — Légis Québec
- Affidavit of execution ontario probate application — Treadstone Law
- Witnessing requirements beneficiary designation forms ontario — Treadstone Law
- Different executors named for different provinces ontario — Treadstone Law
- No one applies for probate ontario consequences — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law