Either works if someone knows where it is. The failure mode is not the location — it is nobody knowing the location.
The Canadian position
A will kept at home avoids the risk of a firm closing, but is exposed to fire, flood and accidental disposal. A will held by a lawyer is safer but can be lost when the practice winds up.
A safety deposit box is secure but often inaccessible immediately after death.
The Islamic position
The hadith speaks of the will being kept ready. Availability, not secrecy, is the point.
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.
What to do about it
- Tell your executor where the original is.
- Keep a copy separately, noting where the original is held.
- Register the location so it can be found even if your executor cannot be reached.
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.
- Research Papers — Cambridge Muslim College
- Research — Cambridge Muslim College
- Academics — Islamic law and theology curriculum — Zaytuna College
- Encyclopaedia of Islam — Brill
- Locating wills and documents — Law Society of Ontario
- Wills Registry — Province of British Columbia
- Choosing estate trustee ontario — Treadstone Law
- What is estate administration tax ontario — Treadstone Law
- Dependants support claim probate avoidance assets ontario — Treadstone Law
- Probate notice beneficiaries ontario — Treadstone Law
- Estate trustee without will ontario — Treadstone Law
- Estate trustee personal liability unpaid eat — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law