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 Abbasids and Ottomans, several of them were raised in rank to queen.[2]