Canadian law permits it; Islamic law caps the bequest at one third without the heirs' consent after death.
The Canadian position
Canadian law permits it; Islamic law caps the bequest at one third without the heirs' consent after death.
Provincial law governs validity, administration and the grounds on which a will can be challenged — so the answer can change if you move.
The Islamic position
Have the faraid shares recalculated whenever the family configuration changes; they are conditional on who survives.
Record the reasoning and the scholar consulted in a memorandum kept with the will.
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
- Recalculate the shares for the new circumstances.
- Update the will with a lawyer in your province.
- Review every beneficiary designation.
- Confirm where the original is kept.
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 al-Baqarah 2:180 — the bequest 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
- What to do when someone has died — Canada Revenue Agency
- Income Tax Act, RSC 1985, c 1 (5th Supp) — Justice Laws Canada
- Trust for disabled adult child not on odsp ontario — Treadstone Law
- Bare trust in estate planning ontario — Treadstone Law
- Estate trustee duties ontario — Treadstone Law
- Ontario salary dividends family trust — Treadstone Law
- Estate trustees fiduciary duties ontario — Treadstone Law
- Estate trustee liability insurance paid from estate ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law