Dayn is debt, settled before any bequest or share.
The Canadian position
Matches Canadian practice, where creditors rank ahead of beneficiaries.
Canadian law gives effect to whatever a valid will says, so an Islamic concept takes effect here through the drafting rather than automatically.
The Islamic position
Scholars distinguish debts owed to people from those owed to God, such as unpaid zakat.
Confirm the position for your own family and school with a qualified scholar rather than relying on a general summary.
All four schools work through the estate in the same order: the cost of preparing and burying the body, then debts, then bequests up to one third, and only what is left is divided by the fixed shares. The disputes are not about the sequence but about two rankings inside it.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-08-19. Full positions, evidence and sources — The order of payment out of an estate.
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.
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 55: Wills and Testaments (Wasaya) — Sunnah.com
- Sahih Muslim, Book of Wills — Sunnah.com
- Apply for probate of an estate — Government of Ontario
- Estate Administration Tax — Government of Ontario
- Estates Act, RSO 1990, c E.21 — Government of Ontario