Wilayah is guardianship over a minor's property.
The Canadian position
Corresponds to guardianship of property, usually achieved through a testamentary trust.
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
The wali manages the property until the child reaches maturity of judgement.
Confirm the position for your own family and school with a qualified scholar rather than relying on a general summary.
They are two different offices, and classically they sit in different hands. Hadanah — day-to-day care — goes first to the mother and down the female line, in an order every school sets out differently. Wilayah — authority over the child and over the child’s property — goes to the father and, after him, to the wasi the father named. The schools differ sharply on the order of care, on the age at which care ends and whether the child then chooses, and on whether the grandfather or the mother holds guardianship of property at all.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-09-01. Full positions, evidence and sources — Hadanah and wilayah — who cares for a child, and who has authority over the child.
Related madhhab issue: When does a child get their inheritance outright?.
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
- T3 Trust Guide — Canada Revenue Agency
- How to apply guardianship of property ontario — Treadstone Law
- What is a testamentary trust ontario — Treadstone Law
- Testamentary trust ontario will — Treadstone Law
- Estate planning for minor children ontario guardianship trust — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law