Under faraid: Umariyyatan applies: the mother takes one third of what remains after the wife's quarter; the father takes the residue.
The Canadian position
Ontario gives the wife the entire estate where there are no children, and the parents 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
Umariyyatan applies: the mother takes one third of what remains after the wife's quarter; the father 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 third of the remainder, in all four schools. The rule is named after ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, who decided both cases this way; the contrary view giving the mother a third of the whole is Ibn ‘Abbas’s and belongs to none of the four schools.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-08-19. Full positions, evidence and sources — The two ‘Umariyyatan cases.
Related madhhab issue: What a husband and a wife inherit.
Related madhhab issue: What a father and a mother inherit.
Related madhhab issue: The order of payment out of an estate.
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
- Intestacy ontario no will distribution — Treadstone Law
- Children born outside marriage intestacy ontario — Treadstone Law
- Business held in a family trust not direct shares — Treadstone Law
- Ontario intestacy no spouse no children — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law