A power of attorney operates while you are alive and ends at death. A will operates only after death. They cover opposite periods and cannot substitute for each other.
The Canadian position
Ontario distinguishes a continuing power of attorney for property from one for personal care. Acting under a POA after death is a common and serious error.
The Islamic position
A POA corresponds to wakalah, an agency that likewise lapses on death, at which point the wasi's authority begins.
All four schools want the same qualities in a wasi — adulthood and legal capacity, Islam, integrity and the ability to do the job. They differ on what failing one of them does. Three schools treat them as conditions of validity, so an appointment that fails one is void. The Hanafi school treats the appointment as valid and puts the remedy in the judge’s hands.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-08-19. Full positions, evidence and sources — Who may be appointed wasi (executor and guardian).
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.
- Substitute Decisions Act, 1992 — Government of Ontario
- Succession Law Reform Act, RSO 1990, c S.26 — Government of Ontario
- Administering estates — Government of Ontario
- Poa personal care substitute guardian ontario — Treadstone Law
- Continuing power of attorney for property ontario overview — Treadstone Law
- What is personal care power of attorney ontario — Treadstone Law
- Can i sell property under power of attorney ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law