Faraid is the system of fixed inheritance shares set out in the Qur'an.
The Canadian position
Canada has no compulsory heirship, so faraid works here only because testamentary freedom permits it.
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
Shares are paid after funeral costs, debts and the bequest, with any residue passing to the asabah.
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.
Related madhhab issue: The residuary heirs (asabah) and their order.
Related madhhab issue: The one-third cap on a bequest.
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.
- Surah an-Nisa 4:11 — shares of children and parents — Quran.com
- Surah an-Nisa 4:12 — shares of spouses and uterine siblings — Quran.com
- Surah an-Nisa 4:176 — the kalalah verse — Quran.com
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 85: Laws of Inheritance (Faraid) — Sunnah.com
- Sahih Muslim, Book of Inheritance — Sunnah.com
- Minority shares diluted to force them out before sale ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law