Umm walad

An umm walad (Arabic: أم ولد‎, lit. 'mother of the child') was the title given to a slave concubine in the Muslim world after she had born her master a child. She could not be sold, and became automatically free on her master's death.[1][2] The offspring of an umm walad were free and considered legitimate children of their father, including full rights of name and inheritance.[2]

The practice was a common way for slave girls endowed with beauty and intelligence to advance in the court, especially if they gave birth to sons; under the late Ummayad, Abbasids and Ottomans, quite a few of them were raised in rank to queen.[2][3] Few of them had been fortunate enough to be Valide sultan (Mother of the king).

Unacknowledged slave mother

Unmarried slave woman if bears a child and if owner does not acknowledge parenthood then such slave women had to face zina charges.[4]

Failure of economically maintaining female slave

Islamic jurisprudence was complicated, If a male owner would have failed to provide economic maintains to female slave or Umm Walad, or goes missing, then situation female slave or Umm Walad could get precarious if clergy did not rule to free them.[4]

See also

References
  1. Bowen 1928, p. 13.
  2. "Umm al-Walad". Oxford Islamic Studies.
  3. Urban, Elizabeth. "The early Islamic mawālī: A window onto processes of identity construction and social change - ProQuest". search.proquest.com. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
  4. FREE FATHERS, SLAVE MOTHERS AND THEIR CHILDREN: A CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF FAMILY STRUCTURES IN AL-ANDALUS Cristinadela Puente; Imago TemporIs. medIum aevum, vii (2013): 27-44. issn 1888-3931

Sources
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