Disclaimer: This post is general information, not legal advice for your specific situation.

Why Make a Will at All?

If you’re like most of us, making a will isn’t something you wake up excited to do. It means sitting with your own mortality for an afternoon, and for many families, it just keeps sliding to next month. But a will isn’t really about you. It’s the last act of care you get to offer the people you love. It’s what spares your spouse from guessing, keeps your children out of a courtroom, and makes sure the person raising your kids is someone you chose, not someone a judge picked because nobody else was named. Without one, all of that is left to chance, and to Manitoba’s default rules.

Why an Islamic Will, Specifically?

For many Muslim families, a will isn’t just good planning but a religious responsibility. The Quran sets out specific inheritance shares (Faraid) for spouses, children, and other relatives, and many scholars treat arranging your affairs in line with these obligations as a duty, not a preference. A Wasiyyah is how you carry out that duty. Without one, there’s no guarantee your estate will be distributed the way your faith asks. It’ll be distributed the way Manitoba’s default rules say, which is a very different formula.

“It is not permissible for any Muslim who has something to bequeath to stay for two nights without having his last will and testament written and kept ready with him.”

— Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Sahih al-Bukhari 2738

Will My Islamic Will Actually Hold Up in a Canadian Court?

This is usually the first question people ask us, and it’s a fair one. The answer is yes, but it doesn’t happen automatically. Canadian law doesn’t apply your wishes or Faraid on its own; there’s no religious court doing that for you. What Canadian law does recognize is your right, as the will-maker, to decide how your estate is distributed. That means you’re free to direct it according to Faraid, as long as the document itself is drafted and executed the way Manitoba’s The Wills Act requires: properly written, signed, and witnessed. Your intention to follow Islamic inheritance rules only becomes real and enforceable once it’s captured correctly in that document.

How Do I Know the Will Is Actually Sharia-Compliant?

This is the other question we hear a lot, and it deserves an honest answer rather than a comfortable one. A lawyer’s job is to make sure your will is legally valid in Manitoba, properly executed, clearly worded, and enforceable in court. Whether its contents actually reflect Sharia the way you understand it is something you decide, often with guidance from an imam or scholar familiar with your school of thought, especially if your family situation raises questions you’re unsure about. Our role is to take the wishes you bring to us and shaped by that guidance, your own understanding, or both and turn them into a document that holds up under Manitoba law. If you’ve already spoken with a scholar about your wishes, we build the will around that. If you haven’t yet, we’re happy to point you toward that conversation before we finalize anything.

How Is This Different From a “Regular” Canadian Will?

A standard Canadian will gives you complete discretion; you can leave everything to one child, split it however you like, or leave someone out entirely. A Wasiyyah works differently: Faraid sets fixed shares for your heirs based on their relationship to you, and you’re generally free to direct only up to one-third of your estate (the Tarikah) beyond that, through the wasiyyah portion, to whoever or whatever cause you choose. A Wasiyyah also accounts for obligations a standard will typically doesn’t, like settling any unpaid Mahr (dower) owed to a spouse, or outstanding Dayn (debts), before anything is distributed at all.

What a Well-Drafted Wasiyyah Actually Covers

• Faraid — the fixed inheritance shares, calculated correctly for your specific family (this varies more than people expect, depending on who survives you).
• A Wasi — the executor you trust to carry out both the legal and religious sides of settling your estate.
• A Wali — a guardian for minor children, someone who’ll raise them in line with your values. Manitoba courts will consider this, but won’t follow it automatically without a clear designation.
• Dayn — outstanding debts, including any unpaid Mahr, which are settled before any distribution happens.
• The wasiyyah portion — up to one-third of the Tarikah you’re free to direct beyond what Faraid assigns to your fixed heirs.

Why This Isn’t a “Someday” Task

We get the instinct to put it off. But an estate without a valid Wasiyyah almost always takes longer, costs more, and adds strain to a family that’s already grieving. For newcomer families especially, navigating Manitoba’s probate process without clear direction means facing an unfamiliar legal system at the hardest possible time.

Getting Started

Every family is different; blended families, property in more than one country, and business ownership all change what a Wasiyyah needs to cover. This post is general information, not legal advice for your specific situation.

If you don’t yet have a Will, or you’re not sure the one you have would hold up in Manitoba, we’d be glad to walk through it with you. Book a consultation with Humaira Jaleel Law Corporation to put a plan in place that honours both your faith and Manitoba law.