A school of Islamic legal thought. Four are followed in Sunni Islam.
In Islamic law
A madhhab is a coherent body of legal method and rulings traced to a founding jurist and developed by generations of scholars after him. The four surviving Sunni schools are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali. They agree on the great majority of inheritance law and differ at defined points.
In Canadian law
Canadian courts do not apply any madhhab. They give effect to whatever a valid will says, so the school you follow matters for how you instruct your lawyer, not for whether the will is enforceable.
No significant difference between the four Sunni schools is recorded on this point in the sources reviewed. Where a specific case turns on it, ask a qualified scholar rather than relying on a general summary.
Canadian legal detail
Treadstone Law, an Ontario firm with a wills and estates practice, covers the Canadian side of this in more depth:
- Passport validity requirements entering canada
- Does ontario require witness to sign in testators presence
- Cohabitation agreement update or revoke
This entry is general information, not legal or religious advice. Inheritance turns on the exact family circumstances. Confirm Canadian law with a lawyer in your province, and any religious ruling with a qualified scholar.
Citations & sources
Every factual claim on this page traces to one of the references below. Legislation and dollar thresholds change — verify against the primary source before relying on any figure.
- Encyclopaedia of Islam — Brill
- Oxford Islamic Studies / Oxford Reference — Oxford University Press
- Succession Law Reform Act, RSO 1990, c S.26 — Government of Ontario
- Locating wills and documents — Law Society of Ontario
- Can you challenge a will after probate ontario — Treadstone Law
- Do i need a witness for a holograph will — Treadstone Law
- Multiple wills ontario — Treadstone Law
- Co ownership death no will ontario — Treadstone Law
- Rectifying a will drafting error ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law