What is Umm al-Walad? Is Selling an Umm al-Walad Permissible?

٤٢٥٠ – حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرٍ الشَّافِعِيُّ , نا الْهَيْثَمُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ خَلَفٍ , نا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُطِيعٍ , نا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ هُوَ الْمُخَرِّمِيُّ , نا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ دِينَارٍ , عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ , قَالَ: «نَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنْ بَيْعِ أُمَّهَاتِ الْأَوْلَادِ , لَا يُبَعْنَ وَلَا يُوهَبْنَ وَلَا يُورَثْنَ , يَسْتَمْتِعُ بِهَا سَيِّدُهَا مَا بَدَا لَهُ فَإِذَا مَاتَ فَهِيَ حُرَّةٌ»
Translation: “The Messenger (peace be upon him) forbade the sale of mothers of children (Ummu Walad). They cannot be sold, nor given as gifts, nor inherited. The master may benefit from her as long as he wishes, and when he dies, she becomes free.”^[1]Sunan al-Daraqutni (Arabic), 5/237, Hadith No. 4250
https://shamela.ws/index.php/book/9771/3984 ; The hadith is authentic and narrated through multiple chains of transmission.
See: http://hadith.islam-db.com/single-book/542/%D8%B3%D9%86%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%82%D8%B7%D9%86%D9%8A/0/3726

http://hadith.islam-db.com/single-book/542/%D8%B3%D9%86%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%82%D8%B7%D9%86%D9%8A/0/3728

In Tabarani Sharif^[2]Mu’jam al-Tabarani al-Kabir (Arabic) 4039
(according to different publications 4147). and Silsila Sahiha^[3]Silsila Sahiha (Arabic) 2417
International 1305
https://www.al-hadees.com/hadees-details/silsila-sahih/1305
Verification by Albani: Sahih, it is narrated with an authentic chain:

عَنْ خَوَّاتِ بن جُبَيْرٍ، قَالَ: مَاتَ رَجُلٌ وَأَوْصَى إِلَيَّ فَكَانَ فِيمَا أَوْصَى بِهِ أُمُّ وَلَدِهِ وَامْرَأَةٌ حُرَّةٌ، فَوَقَعَ بَيْنَ أُمِّ الْوَلَدِ وَالْمَرْأَةِ كَلامٌ، فَقَالَتْ لَهَا الْمَرْأَةُ: يَا لَكْعَا! غَدًا يُّؤْخَذُ بِأُذُنِكِ فَتُبَاعِينَ فِي السُّوقِ! فَذَكَرْتُ ذَلِكَ لِرَسُولِ اللهِ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ، فَقَالَ: لا تُبَاعُ أُمُّ الولَدِ.
Translation: Khawwat ibn Jubair (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
When a person died and left his will with me, his will included an Ummu Walad (slave woman) and a free wife.
A bitter dispute arose between the Ummu Walad and the free wife. The woman said, “O illegitimate one! Tomorrow you will be dragged by your ear and sold in the market.”
When I mentioned this matter to the Messenger (peace be upon him), he said: “Ummu Walad cannot be sold.”

That is, we can see that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) himself forbade it.
In Muwatta Imam Malik, it is mentioned:

حَدَّثَنِي مَالِك عَنْ نَافِعٍ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ أَنَّ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ قَالَ أَيُّمَا وَلِيدَةٍ وَلَدَتْ مِنْ سَيِّدِهَا فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَبِيعُهَا وَلَا يَهَبُهَا وَلَا يُوَرِّثُهَا وَهُوَ يَسْتَمْتِعُ بِهَا فَإِذَا مَاتَ فَهِيَ حُرَّةٌ.

Narrated from Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him):
Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Any slave woman who gives birth to a child from her master, the master cannot sell her, nor can he give her as a gift, nor can anyone gain ownership of her. The master will enjoy her companionship, and when the master dies, the slave woman will become free.^[4]Muwatta Imam Malik 1465 (Bengali translation, ihadis)
International: 38:6 https://www.alim.org/hadith/muwatta/38/6 ; Sahih

Al-Zurqani said: “Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), most of the Tabi’in, the four Imams, and the majority of Islamic jurists agree on this matter. When Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) forbade their (Ummu Walad’s) sale, it became prohibited based on consensus.”^[5]Sharh al-Zurqani 1509
For more hadiths about the freedom of Ummu Walad, see:

• Sunan al-Kubra al-Bayhaqi 76/1, Chapter on Ummu Walad.
• Al-Talkhis al-Habir 4/520

In the hadith, it is mentioned:

عن عمر بن الخطاب – رضي الله عنه – قال: إذا ولدت أم الولد من سيدها فقد عتقت , وإن كان سقطا.
From the authority of Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: If Ummu Walad gives birth to a child, she will be freed, even if it is a miscarriage.^[6]Kitab al-Jami al-Sahih lil-Sunan wal-Masanid 24/290; Irwa 1771; Sahih

If a slave woman gives birth to her master’s child, whether it is healthy and alive or dead, it guarantees the slave woman’s freedom after the master’s death. Regarding what the child should be like, Ibn Rushd (may Allah have mercy on him) (died 595 AH) mentioned:

“Imam Malik said: Whatever the slave woman gives birth to, even if it is a fetus or a clot of blood.
Imam al-Shafi’i (the principal Imam of the Shafi’i school) said: Physical presence and physical characteristics (such as the shape of hands and feet) need to be manifested.”

Ibn Rushd also mentioned that:

“It has been decided based on consensus that it is forbidden to sell a slave woman even during pregnancy.”^[7]Bidayat al-Mujtahid- The Distinguished Jurist’s Premier
[English translation] Volume 2, pp. 475-476 https://archive.org/details/learnislampdfenglishbookthedistinguishedjuristsprimervol.2bidayatalmujtahid/page/n479/mode/1up

To learn about various jurisprudential matters regarding different aspects of Ummu Walad, you can see:

• Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah from 21894 to 21900
• Jami’ al-Ulum wa al-Hikam 1/166
• Kitab al-Sharh al-Kabir ila al-Muqanna 19/418
• Al-Mughni 14/596

According to the scholars:
The Messenger (peace be upon him) prohibited the sale of Ummu Walad and children towards the end of his life.^[8]Majmu Sharh al-Muhazzab 9/243
The majority of jurists have agreed that Ummu Walad cannot be sold, cannot be mortgaged, and cannot be inherited. However, after the owner’s death, Ummu Walad becomes free.^[9]جمهور الفقهاء – وعليه أكثر التابعين على أن السيد لا يجوز له في أم ولده التصرف بما ينقل الملك، فلا يجوز بيعها، ولا وقفها، ولا رهنها، ولا تورث، بل تعتق بموت السيد من كل المال ويزول الملك عنها.
Mawsu’ah al-Fiqhaiyyah (4/166)
https://shamela.ws/book/11430/2326
People might see apparent contradiction in the two hadiths narrated from Jabir ibn Abdullah.
Narrated from Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him):

While the Prophet (peace be upon him) was alive among us, we used to sell our captive slave women and Ummu Walad. We did not consider it reprehensible.^[10]Ibn Majah 2517 (ihadis).

Narrated from Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him):

He said: We sold Ummu Walad slave women during the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and Abu Bakr. Later, during Umar’s (may Allah be pleased with him) era, when he forbade us, we refrained.^[11]Abu Dawud 3954 (ihadis).

The scholars have explained these hadiths by saying that in the early days of Islam, there was no prohibition on selling Ummu Walad. Later it was prohibited.
Jabir ibn Abdullah and a few others were unaware of this matter.^[12]Majmu Sharh al-Muhazzab 9/243 https://shamela.ws/book/2186/4708
During Abu Bakr’s (may Allah be pleased with him) two-year rule, this matter did not come to his attention. After this matter came to Umar’s (may Allah be pleased with him) attention, he informed Jabir ibn Abdullah. During his rule, Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) resolved several such matters according to the Messenger’s (peace be upon him) guidance.^[13]Fath al-Qadir al-Manaawi, 6th Volume, Page 385

And Allah knows best.