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What is exclusion in Islamic inheritance?

Hajb — where a nearer heir blocks a more distant one, either completely or by reducing their share.

Draft — pending review. This page has been prepared but has not yet been reviewed by a Canadian estates lawyer or a qualified scholar. Treat it as a starting point for questions, not as advice you should act on.

Hajb — where a nearer heir blocks a more distant one, either completely or by reducing their share.

The Canadian position

Canadian intestacy has an ordering by degree of kinship, but the exclusions do not correspond.

A grandchild in Canada usually steps into a predeceased parent's place; faraid does not use representation the same way.

The Islamic position

Total exclusion: a son excludes a brother. Partial: a child reduces a wife from one quarter to one eighth.

Getting exclusion wrong is the commonest error in amateur calculations, and it changes almost every other share.

Across the madhahib

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.

Before you act on this

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.

Islamic primary sources
  1. Surah an-Nisa 4:11 — shares of children and parents — Quran.com
  2. Surah an-Nisa 4:12 — shares of spouses and uterine siblings — Quran.com
  3. Surah an-Nisa 4:176 — the kalalah verse — Quran.com
  4. Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 85: Laws of Inheritance (Faraid) — Sunnah.com
  5. Sahih Muslim, Book of Inheritance — Sunnah.com
Scholarly & institutional references
  1. Encyclopaedia of Islam — Brill
  2. Research Papers — Cambridge Muslim College
  3. Research — Cambridge Muslim College
  4. Academics — Islamic law and theology curriculum — Zaytuna College
Canadian legislation & government
  1. Administering estates — Government of Ontario
Canadian legal commentary
  1. Safeguarding original will as evidence ontario — Treadstone Law
  2. When should i update my will ontario — Treadstone Law
  3. What to do if you were left out of a will ontario — Treadstone Law
  4. Separation effect on will beneficiary designations ontario — Treadstone Law
  5. Updating estate trustee in will ontario — Treadstone Law
  6. Forensic handwriting expert will dispute ontario — Treadstone Law
  7. Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law