Under faraid: Wife one eighth; mother one sixth; son takes the residue.
The Canadian position
Ontario gives the wife the preferential share then splits the residue with the son; the mother receives nothing.
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
Wife one eighth; mother one sixth; son takes the residue.
Shares are calculated on the net estate after funeral expenses, debts including unpaid mahr, and any bequest capped at one third.
A husband takes one half where his wife left no child and one quarter where she did; a wife takes one quarter where her husband left no child and one eighth where he did. Ibn Qudama records this as the consensus of the scholars, and adds that co-widows share the one fraction between them however many there are.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-08-19. Full positions, evidence and sources — What a husband and a wife inherit.
Related madhhab issue: What a father and a mother inherit.
Related madhhab issue: The residuary heirs (asabah) and their order.
Related madhhab issue: The order of payment out of an estate.
Making an Islamic will in Canada — province by province, and what makes one valid where you live →
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 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.
- 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
- Succession Law Reform Act, RSO 1990, c S.26 — Government of Ontario
- Administering estates — Government of Ontario
- What is preferential share ontario intestacy — Treadstone Law
- Preferential share spouse intestacy ontario — Treadstone Law
- Intestacy ontario no will distribution — Treadstone Law
- Business held in a family trust not direct shares — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law