History of concubinage in the Muslim world

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Concubinage in the Muslim world refers to the mostly historical practice of Muslim men entering into sexual relationships with women outside the institution of marriage. This mainly involved enslaved women, though there are exceptional cases involving free women. Historically it was common practice in societies of the Mediterranean and the ancient Near East for the owners of slaves to have sexual relations with individuals considered their property. This fact persisted, with distinct legal differences, among the three major Abrahamic religions from antiquity. Standing in contrast to modern interpretations of Islamic law, traditionalist interpretations historically permitted men to have sexual relations with their female slaves, while at the same time affording affected female slaves a variety of different rights and privileges, whose scope varied over different periods. An example is the status of umm al-walad, which could be granted to a concubine who gave birth to a child whose paternity...

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