Distribution by branch — a deceased child's share passes to their own children rather than being redistributed among the survivors.
The Canadian position
Contrasted with per capita, where surviving beneficiaries share equally and a predeceased branch takes nothing.
Canadian anti-lapse rules may achieve a similar result by default.
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.
Under classical faraid, no. A surviving son of the deceased excludes his brother’s children entirely, in all four schools, on the rule that the nearer in degree shuts out the more remote. That is the classical answer, and it is the reason the case has been legislated on across the Muslim world in the twentieth century — and the reason it should be dealt with directly in a will here.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-09-01. Full positions, evidence and sources — A grandchild whose parent died first.
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
- Naming per stirpes vs per capita beneficiaries ontario — Treadstone Law
- Can children of deceased child inherit per stirpes ontario — Treadstone Law
- Per stirpes distribution intestacy ontario — Treadstone Law
- Minority shareholder same price per share as majority ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law