The Islamic marriage contract.
In Islamic law
A valid nikah establishes the mutual rights of inheritance between spouses, and creates the obligation of mahr.
In Canadian law
A nikah alone does not always create a legally married spouse in Canada. Where it is not solemnised in compliance with provincial marriage law, the surviving partner may have no intestate entitlement — a risk worth checking rather than assuming.
Making an Islamic will in Canada — province by province, and what makes one valid where you live →
We have not yet researched whether the four Sunni schools differ on this term, so we are not going to tell you either way. 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:
- Marriage contract and will alignment ontario
- Spousal trust ontario will surviving spouse
- Spousal trust surviving spouse remarries 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
- Oxford Islamic Studies / Oxford Reference — Oxford University Press
- Marriage contract and will alignment ontario — Treadstone Law
- Spousal trust ontario will surviving spouse — Treadstone Law
- Spousal trust surviving spouse remarries ontario — Treadstone Law
- Marriage contract matrimonial home — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law