Naming it is useful context, but it is not a substitute for stating the shares. The document must be executable on its own terms.
The Canadian position
A Canadian court will not research your school's position. It reads the words in the will.
Naming the school in a letter of wishes gives helpful context without making the will depend on external interpretation.
The Islamic position
Where your school differs from others — the grandfather case, radd, the Mushtaraka — that difference must appear as actual fractions.
Otherwise the school reference does no work.
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: 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?.
Related madhhab issue: May a Muslim take another school’s position on one question?.
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.
- Encyclopaedia of Islam — Brill
- Succession Law Reform Act, RSO 1990, c S.26 — Government of Ontario
- Administering estates — Government of Ontario
- Letter of wishes ontario trust — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law