Funeral expenses, then debts, then the bequest up to one third, then the fixed shares. Canadian administration follows a closely parallel sequence.
The Canadian position
Canadian executors pay funeral costs, administration expenses, taxes and creditors before beneficiaries.
Distributing out of order is the main source of personal liability for executors.
The Islamic position
The classical sequence is well settled across all four schools.
Unpaid mahr and outstanding zakat both rank as debts, ahead of the bequest.
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.
What to do about it
- Pay funeral expenses first.
- Identify and settle all debts, including mahr and zakat arrears.
- Pay the wasiyyah, capped at one third.
- Distribute the fixed shares.
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.
- 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 55: Wills and Testaments (Wasaya) — Sunnah.com
- Sahih Muslim, Book of Wills — Sunnah.com
- Research Papers — Cambridge Muslim College
- Research — Cambridge Muslim College
- Academics — Islamic law and theology curriculum — Zaytuna College
- Encyclopaedia of Islam — Brill
- 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
- Limited grant probate pending litigation ontario — Treadstone Law
- Estate trustee removal grounds court ontario — Treadstone Law
- How to apply for probate ontario step by step — Treadstone Law
- What is estate trustee without a will ontario — Treadstone Law
- Beneficiary designation bypass probate ontario — Treadstone Law
- Probate planning blended families ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law