Umm al-walad

Arabic term for a slave-concubine that mothers a master's child

In the Muslim world, the title of umm al-walad was given to a slave-concubine who had given birth to her master's child. These women were regarded as property and could be sold by their owners, a practice that was permitted at the time under some strict rules and regulations from Muhammad. However, later after Muhammad’s death, Umar authorized a policy during his time as a caliph, that prohibited owners from selling or gifting their umm al-walads, and upon their owners deaths, they would be granted freedom. Ali, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, initially concurred with Umar's decision. However, after Umar's death and the death of Uthman, who maintained the policy, Ali reversed it in the later period of his caliphate, declaring that umm al-walad was still sellable despite having given birth to the owner's child.

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