The public treasury, classical recipient of an estate with no entitled heirs. No such institution operates in Canada.
The Canadian position
Canadian estates with no traceable kin escheat to the provincial Crown.
That is a state treasury, but it is not a bayt al-mal in the classical sense.
The Islamic position
The classical Maliki and Shafi'i position directs surplus and heirless estates to the treasury rather than applying radd.
Because no functioning bayt al-mal exists here, later scholars in both schools generally permit radd and inheritance by distant relatives instead.
The Hanafi and Hanbali schools return the surplus to the fixed-share heirs in proportion to their shares. The classical Maliki and Shafi’i position sends it to the public treasury instead — but both schools treat that as conditional on there being a treasury worth the name, which in Canada there is not.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-08-19. Full positions, evidence and sources — Radd — the return of a surplus to the fixed-share heirs.
Related madhhab issue: Dhawu al-arham — do distant kin inherit?.
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.
- 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
- Encyclopaedia of Islam — Brill
- Egyptian Dar al-Ifta — Dar al-Ifta al-Missriyyah