A net estate of $300,000 after funeral expenses, debts and any bequest. Here is what Islamic law does with it, and what Canadian law does.
Under faraid
The four schools do not divide this estate the same way. Each grouping below is what that school actually gives, on the researched positions in our madhhab register.
Hanafi
| Heir | Share | Amount | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paternal grandfather | 1 | $300,000 | the entire residue as asabah |
Maliki, Shafi’i and Hanbali
| Heir | Share | Amount | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paternal grandfather | 1/3 | $100,000 | sharing with the siblings, taking the better of muqasama, a third of the residue, or a sixth of the estate |
| Full brothers (2) | 2/3 | $200,000 | residue after the grandfather's share |
A grandfather surviving alongside siblings is a recognised point of difference: Abu Hanifa excludes the siblings entirely, while the Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools have the grandfather share with them, taking no less than one third of the residue. This calculator applies Abu Hanifa's rule for every school, so on the Maliki, Shafi'i or Hanbali position the grandfather's figure above is too high and the siblings' too low. Take advice before relying on it.
Shares total 1. Figures rounded to whole dollars.
Under Canadian law
Ontario's intestacy rules pass the estate to the parents where there is no spouse or issue; a grandfather only reaches an estate when no parent survives, and siblings come after that again. The provincial formula has no concept of the grandfather and the brothers dividing between them.
What makes the difference
This is the clearest case in faraid where the school you follow changes the money. Abu Hanifa puts the grandfather in the father's place, so he takes everything and the brothers take nothing. Malik, al-Shafi'i and Ahmad have him share with them as though he were one more brother, subject to a floor of a third — which on these facts is exactly a third. On a $300,000 estate the difference to each uncle is $100,000 or nothing.
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
- Succession Law Reform Act, RSO 1990, c S.26 — Government of Ontario
- Administering estates — Government of Ontario
- Wills, Estates and Succession Act, SBC 2009, c 13 — BC Laws
- Preferential share spouse intestacy ontario — Treadstone Law
- Estate taking too long what beneficiaries can do ontario — Treadstone Law
- Intestacy spouse one child ontario — Treadstone Law
- Half siblings intestacy ontario — Treadstone Law
- Missing heir intestacy ontario estate — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law