Umm al-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 Abbasids and Ottomans, several of them were raised in rank to queen.[2]
See also
References
- ^ Bowen 1928, p. 13.
- ^ a b c "Umm al-Walad". Oxford Islamic Studies.
Sources
- Bowen, Harold (1928). The Life and Times of ʿAlí Ibn ʿÍsà, ‘The Good Vizier’. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. OCLC 982525160.
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