Under faraid: Husband one half; mother one third; sister one half — the shares exceed the estate, so 'awl applies.
The Canadian position
Ontario gives the husband the whole estate where there are no children.
Provincial intestacy applies only where there is no valid will. A will can direct the faraid distribution instead, and Canadian testamentary freedom makes that enforceable.
The Islamic position
Husband one half; mother one third; sister one half — the shares exceed the estate, so 'awl applies.
Shares are calculated on the net estate after funeral expenses, debts including unpaid mahr, and any bequest capped at one third.
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
- Have the shares calculated for your actual family by someone trained in faraid.
- Have a lawyer draft them into a provincially valid will.
- Review after any birth, death, marriage or divorce.
Configurations change as family members are born and die. Draft the will in conditional fractions rather than fixed dollar amounts so it stays correct.
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 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 85: Laws of Inheritance (Faraid) — Sunnah.com
- Sahih Muslim, Book of Inheritance — Sunnah.com
- Encyclopaedia of Islam — Brill
- Research Papers — Cambridge Muslim College
- Research — Cambridge Muslim College
- Academics — Islamic law and theology curriculum — Zaytuna College
- Succession Law Reform Act, RSO 1990, c S.26 — Government of Ontario
- Administering estates — Government of Ontario
- Are adopted children included in intestacy ontario — Treadstone Law
- Can minors inherit directly ontario intestacy — Treadstone Law
- What happens if you die without a will ontario — Treadstone Law
- Common law spouse beneficiary designation vs intestacy ontario — Treadstone Law
- Preferential share spouse intestacy ontario — Treadstone Law
- What happens to digital assets intestacy ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law