A net estate of $400,000 after funeral expenses, debts and any bequest. Here is what Islamic law does with it, and what Canadian law does.
Under faraid
| Heir | Share | Amount | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Son | 2/3 | $266,667 | residue as asabah, two shares each |
| Daughter | 1/3 | $133,333 | residue as asabah, one share each |
Shares total 1. Figures rounded to whole dollars.
Under Canadian law
Canadian law imposes no religious bar whatever. A will may leave anything to anyone, and a non-Muslim spouse left nothing may bring a dependant support claim.
What makes the difference
The classical rule is that a Muslim and a non-Muslim do not inherit from one another as fixed heirs. Scholars commonly point to the discretionary one third as the mechanism for providing for non-Muslim family. This is a configuration to take to a scholar directly.
Real estates involve debts, taxes, beneficiary designations and jointly held property that change the arithmetic substantially. Run your own family through the calculator, then confirm the result with a scholar and a lawyer.
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.
- Research Papers — Cambridge Muslim College
- Academics — Islamic law and theology curriculum — Zaytuna College
- Renovatio: The Journal of Zaytuna College — Zaytuna College
- Oxford Islamic Studies / Oxford Reference — Oxford University Press
- Encyclopaedia of Islam — Brill
- 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
- Grewal v. Litt, 2019 BCSC 1154 — CanLII
- Wills, Estates and Succession Act, SBC 2009, c 13 — BC Laws
- Canadian Legal Information Institute — CanLII
- Spence v. BMO Trust Company, 2016 ONCA 196 — CanLII
- Dependant support claim against jointly held assets ontario — Treadstone Law
- Common law spouse dependant support claim ontario — Treadstone Law
- Dependant support claim ontario estate — Treadstone Law
- Beneficiary died before me ontario — Treadstone Law
- Discretionary vs fixed interest trust ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law