2014 - Issue: He said: "And if she conceives from him by a free man while in his ownership, and delivers part of what has become manifest in it of human formation, she becomes an umm al-walad (mother of his child) for him by that."

Al-Khiraqi mentioned three conditions for her becoming an umm al-walad: The first is that she conceives from a free man. As for if she conceives from a slave—and this is conceivable in terms of ownership in two situations: First, in the case of a slave when his master grants him ownership and we say that he (the slave) does own. If he has intercourse with his slave girl and makes her pregnant, his child is a slave, and the slave girl does not become an umm al-walad, nor does the ruling of istilad (claiming the child) become established for her by that, regardless of whether his master permitted him to have sexual relations with her or not. Second, if a mukatab (a slave with a contract of manumission) makes his slave girl pregnant, his child is his slave; as for the slave girl, the rulings of umm al-walad regarding manumission upon his death are not established for her in either case, because the mukatab is not a free man and his child by her is not free, so it is more fitting that she should not be freed. Whenever the mukatab becomes incapable and returns to slavery, or dies before fulfilling his kitabah (contract), she is a full slave, like the slave girl of a full slave. Is the mukatab permitted to sell her and dispose of her? There is a difference of opinion on this. The Qadi mentioned in one place that no rulings of istilad are established for her, and she does not become an umm al-walad under any circumstances. This is one of the two opinions of al-Shafi'i, because she conceived from a slave within an incomplete ownership, so none of the rulings of istilad are established for her, like the slave girl of a full slave. The apparent meaning of al-Madhhab is that her status is suspended; he does not possess the right to sell her or transfer ownership of her. If he becomes free, she becomes an umm al-walad for him, becoming free upon his death, thus there is established for her the sanctity of istilad, similar to that which is established for her child from the sanctity of freedom. Ahmad (may Allah be pleased with him) has explicitly stated the prohibition of selling her, and the implication of al-Khiraqi's words may support both perspectives. The second condition is that she conceives from him while in his ownership, whether it is from a permitted act of intercourse or a forbidden one, such as intercourse during menstruation, post-natal bleeding, fasting, ihram (state of pilgrimage), dhihar (a form of repudiation), or otherwise. As for if she conceives from him outside of his ownership, she does not become an umm al-walad by that, regardless of whether she conceived from him while he was a slave, or he was deceived regarding a slave girl and married her thinking she was free and made her pregnant, or he bought a slave girl and made her pregnant but she proved to be rightfully owned by another—in these cases, the child is free, but the slave girl does not become an umm al-walad.