A recognised bar to inheritance between a Muslim and a non-Muslim in classical law.
In Islamic law
The four schools hold that a Muslim and a non-Muslim do not inherit from one another as fixed heirs. This is among the most consequential rules for Canadian families, which are frequently religiously mixed.
In Canadian law
Canadian law imposes no such rule, and a will may leave anything to anyone. Where a family includes non-Muslim members, scholars commonly point to the discretionary one third as the mechanism for providing for them — and a court would give that full effect.
Making an Islamic will in Canada — province by province, and what makes one valid where you live →
Across the madhahib
The rule concerns inheritance as a fixed heir. It is not treated as a bar to receiving a bequest out of the one third.
Canadian legal detail
Treadstone Law, an Ontario firm with a wills and estates practice, covers the Canadian side of this in more depth:
- Can i leave out a child from my will ontario
- Discretionary vs fixed interest trust ontario
- Difference between executor and estate trustee ontario
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
- Can i leave out a child from my will ontario — Treadstone Law
- Discretionary vs fixed interest trust ontario — Treadstone Law
- Difference between executor and estate trustee ontario — Treadstone Law
- Discretionary family trust ontario estate planning — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law