The relationship between parents and children is a strong, ineluctable one. It has a profound, emotional effect on both, as it is based on blood and lineage. The child-parent
relationship gives rise to mutual rights and duties. These rights relate to the person of the
child: for protection, care and maintenance. This article will examine the rights of children
to maintenance. It will examine the law applied in Malaysia and several Muslim countries:
Morocco, Jordan, Syria, Kuwait and Qatar. It will identify the family relationships which
have particular responsibility to provide maintenance to children, and examine the extent
of the obligation, and the entitlement of children to such rights. This article also aims to
investigate the extent of the role of family law institutions in safeguarding such rights of
children. Where appropriate, it will make suggestions for the improvement of relevant
Islamic statutory provisions in Malaysia.