Daraqutni

Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: In the time of ignorance, there were four types of marriage. One type of marriage was the one that is prevalent among people today: a man would send a proposal for the daughter of another man, give her a dowry, and marry her. Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated: The second type of marriage was that a man, after his wife became pure following divorce from him, would say to her: Send a message to such-and-such man and have intercourse with him. During this period, the husband would stay away from his wife and would not have intercourse with her until the woman became pregnant from the other man with whom she had intercourse. When the woman’s pregnancy became apparent, her original husband would have intercourse with her if he wished. The man did this so that his offspring would be from the seed of a man of a great family. This marriage was called Nikah Istibda’. Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The third type of marriage was that a group of people, less than ten in number, would gather together. They would all go to a woman and all of them would have intercourse with her. Then she would become pregnant and eventually give birth to a child. A few days after giving birth, she would call all of them together. None of them could refuse to come. When they were all gathered with the woman, she would say to them: You know what you have done. I have given birth to a child. O so-and-so! This is your son. The woman would name whichever of them she wished, and the child’s lineage would be attached to that man. That man could not deny the child. The fourth type was that many people would gather and go to a woman. The woman could not prevent any man who came to her. These were prostitute women. They would have special flags on their doors as a sign of their (profession). Whoever wanted to go to them would go. When one of these women became pregnant and gave birth to a child, all the men would be gathered to her. Then a physiognomist would be called, and he would attach the child to the man whom the child resembled. Then people would call the child the son of that man, and that man could not deny him.