Tarikah is the estate — everything the deceased leaves behind.
The Canadian position
Corresponds to the estate, though Canadian assets passing by designation never enter 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
Funeral costs, debts, bequest and shares are paid from it in that order.
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: Assets that pass outside the estate — are they part of the tarikah?.
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
- 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
- What assets go through probate ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law