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.
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