Once capacity is lost, a will can no longer be made. The estate will be distributed by provincial intestacy rules.
The Canadian position
Capacity is assessed at the moment of signing. A will made after capacity is lost is invalid.
The Islamic position
The hadith warns against delay for exactly this reason — the window to record your wishes closes without warning.
No school makes writing a will a duty in itself. The four are recorded as agreed that it is recommended, and obligatory only where a debt, a trust held for someone else, or an outstanding duty would otherwise be lost. That answer assumes the fixed shares apply by themselves — which they do not in Canada, where an estate left without a will is divided by provincial statute instead, and where AMJA has resolved that a Muslim living in the West must make a bequest.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-09-01. Full positions, evidence and sources — Is a Muslim obliged to write a will?.
Related madhhab issue: 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 the strongest practical argument for not postponing. Capacity is not something you can schedule.
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.
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 55: Wills and Testaments (Wasaya) — Sunnah.com
- Sahih Muslim, Book of Wills — Sunnah.com
- Substitute Decisions Act, 1992 — Government of Ontario
- Succession Law Reform Act, RSO 1990, c S.26 — Government of Ontario
- Administering estates — Government of Ontario
- Half relatives kindred rules ontario intestacy — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law