Generally the executor named in the will, or the closest next of kin where there is none. Written instructions carry substantial weight in practice.
The Canadian position
Funeral directions in a will are often not legally binding and arrive too late anyway.
Disputes about burial are decided quickly by courts when they arise, but the process is distressing.
The Islamic position
Where a family includes non-Muslims who may be deciding, written instructions given to them now are essential.
Do not leave burial method to be inferred.
Washing, shrouding, praying over and burying a Muslim are communal obligations — fard kifayah — discharged for everyone once some carry them out. What the schools differ on is who. The order of entitlement to perform the ghusl runs four different ways; the Hanafi school alone bars a husband from washing his wife; and on whether a woman may follow the bier the schools run from open permission to near-prohibition. The Hanbali and Maliki schools give the deceased’s appointed wasi the first right; the Hanafi and Shafi’i schools do not give effect to a direction in the will at all.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-09-01. Full positions, evidence and sources — Ghusl, kafan and salat al-janazah — who performs them?.
Related madhhab issue: Must a Muslim be buried in a Muslim cemetery?.
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.
- What to do when someone dies — Government of Ontario
- Canadian Legal Information Institute — CanLII
- Funeral wishes in will legally binding ontario — Treadstone Law
- Cremation vs burial instructions executor follow ontario — Treadstone Law
- Body disposition dispute no will instructions ontario — Treadstone Law
- Next of kin vs beneficiary ontario whats the difference — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law