<![CDATA[This study examines child maintenance (nafkah) after the father’s death within the reform of Islamic family law in Indonesia. The study addresses a research gap in existing scholarship, which predominantly focuses on child maintenance after divorce, religious court decisions, and parental non-compliance, while limited attention has been given to the reconstruction of child maintenance after the father’s death, particularly in relation to Article 104 of the Compilation of Islamic Law (KHI) and maqāṣid al-sharīʿah. Employing a normative-qualitative approach, the study analyzes classical fiqh, Indonesian family-law regulations, judicial practices, and comparative perspectives from Muslim-majority countries. The findings demonstrate that the principal problem is not the absence of normative responsibility, but an implementation and institutional gap. Article 104 KHI provides a kinship-based framework, yet its effectiveness is constrained by unequal economic capacity among paternal relatives, changing family structures, and the absence of clear enforcement mechanisms. The analysis further finds that responsibility should be assessed not solely through paternal kinship but also through economic capacity, caregiving continuity, guardianship, inheritance resources, and the best interests of the child. Accordingly, the study proposes a shift from a kinship-centred model toward a child-welfare-centred framework, grounded in ḥifẓ al-nafs, ḥifẓ al-nasl, and maṣlaḥah, with proportionate state intervention where family mechanisms are insufficient.]]>
